Like Father, Like Son
by kala9
Summary: After a visit from Judy's parents, she begins to wonder what are Nick's like and finds out that his father disappeared mysteriously years ago. Upon hearing this, she is determined to find Nick's father, but somehow the fox doesn't seem as eager to find him. Before they know it, they have become tangled in business they didn't want to. Rated T for violence, blood and profanities.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction. There may be mistakes so sorry in advance, don't kill me. Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia. Though I'd like to.**

 **-Chapter 1-**

The moon was already high on the sky when a gray bunny stepped out of the cinema with her fox friend. They had been watching a movie named Deadpoodle, and now the fox had promised to walk the bunny home, after all it would be dangerous for a small animal to walk alone in the night. It was the bunny's, Judy's, idea to go to the movies together after she had heard the fox, Nick Wilde, talk about wanting to go see the movie. It wasn't the first screening in Zootopia, but the place had been crowded nevertheless.

"I didn't quite understand the part where he was disfigured. Shouldn't he, like, be able to heal his skin?" she asked.

"Okay, for the last time, his healing factor assumed the cancerous cells were part of him and kinda rolled with it", Nick explained. "Seriously, it's not that hard to understand."  
They stopped at traffic lights, waiting for their turn to walk.

"But whad'ya think about it?" Nick asked.

"It was cool", Judy told. "You know, when I was younger, I was a huge Batbat-fan. Had a lot of posters and almost every issue."  
The light changed to green and they walked across the road.

"Cool, but Batbat's MDC and Deadpoodle's Murvel. Don't mix them up."

"I know", Judy said and crossed her arms. She didn't know.  
They continued chatting until they were nearing Judy's apartment, and a certain car in the parking lot caught her attention.

"Wait a minute..." she mumbled.

"What?"

"That's ours!" she said and pointed at the blue pick-up truck. "Or my parents', actually, but anyway. They didn't tell me they were going to visit."  
They walked to the door and Judy assumed they were waiting for her inside.

"Well, see you tomorrow, then", Nick said and was just going to leave when Judy pulled his tie.

"Hey, you must meet them first! I know they'll like you", she said.

"But it's so late and I still need to finish that report..."

"You have never finished them in time anyway, so one more time doesn't hurt", Judy said and grinned. "Come now."  
With a defeated sigh the fox followed Judy into the building with his shoulders drooping.  
The elevator wasn't working (no wonder, Judy was sure it was at least 100 years old and probably had never been maintained properly), so they walked the stairs until they arrived the right corridor and could see two bunnies standing by the door.

"Mom! Dad!" Judy yelled and ran to hug them. After the not-so-brief greetings she looked at them and said: "I did give you that spare key. Why didn't you use it to get in?"

"Your brother ate it", Mrs. Hopps told her. "Don't worry, Maribella's taking care of him, it should come back soon enough."  
Judy couldn't hide her disgusted grimace as she opened the door and let the bunny couple in. Then she gestured Nick to walk inside the room although he seemed reluctant to stay.

"Mum, dad, this in Nick. We're partners, as you maybe already know", she said. Nick nodded at the awkwardly.

"So this is the fox I've been hearing so much about!" Mrs. Hopps said and shook Nick's hand. "It's so nice to see you, my daughter keeps talking about you non-stop, I think she even..."

"Mom!" Judy said harshly and the woman fell silent, but only for a second.

"Your fur looks very shiny and healthy. That's a good thing, yes, indeed. I take it you eat healthily..."

"Mom!"

"Right, I'm sorry. Stu, shake his hand!" Mrs. Hopps commanded and Mr. Hopps extended his arm to Nick.

"Stu Hopps. Good to see you", he said firmly.

"You too", Nick muttered.  
It became quiet and Judy started fixing coffee for her guests.

"Oh, we brought carrots", Mrs. Hopps said and Nick accidentally let out an amused breath that he then tried to conceal by coughing, "but your father here left them in the car. Stu, could you please go get them?"

"I can fetch them", Nick said. The bunny mother seemed pleased with this and then she gave him the car keys.

"It's the blue one", she told and Nick nodded. The fox walked out holding the car keys and Judy gestured her parents to sit around the table. There were only two chairs so she and Nick would have to sit on her bed.

"So, are you staying long?" she asked.

"No, we're actually heading to east and decided to make a brief visit", Mr. Hopps told.

"Oh right, the farm festival!" Judy remembered. "Tell Barry I said hi, then."

"Will do."  
Her parents told her pretty much everything that had happened back in Bunnyburrow (really nothing much. The neighbors' new triplets were healthy, and little Joey had accidentally kicked a ball through the window, things like that) and in return Judy told them about work and how he and Nick had been in a car chase few days back, and how a carrot cake had been bought for her on her one year anniversary.  
The door was soon opened by Nick who was carrying two wooden crates, both filled with carrots. They looked awfully heavy but before Judy could help him, he had already placed them neatly on the ground and walked to Mrs. Hopps to return the key. She thanked him, and praised him for being such a good boy.

"So... Nick, was it?" Mr. Hopps said. "You have lived here for your entire life, yes?"

"Yeah", Nick replied vaguely. It was quiet, and no one really knew what to talk about anymore.

"Look at the time, Bonnie, we too need to hurry if we want to have a good parking place", Mr. Hopps said. They always arrived the festival at least ten hours before just to have a good place. He got up and his wife followed, and Judy gave them a quick last hug. They waved to Nick and then walked out of the door.

"Phew", Judy said, "They're a handful, but I still love them."

"They're okay", Nick said.

"Haha, yeah", Judy replied. She took the cups from the table and put them in the sink, and then she quickly washed her hands.

"So what about you, Nick? You've never really mentioned your family. What are they like?"

"My family?" Nick repeated as if Judy had asked him to recite his whole family tree beginning from his ancestors.

"Yeah", she replied. Nick seemed thoughtful for a second and then said:

"My mother's already dead."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How did she..." Judy didn't want to finish the sentence.

"Cancer. I was twelve."

"Nick, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was ages ago."

"So you lived with your father after that, huh? What was he like?"

"Oh, my father left when I was maybe six. After mom died, I was alone", Nick muttered.

"He left? Oh."

"Well, more like he disappeared. Walked out of the door and never came back."

"So he might still be alive?"

"Of course he might be alive. However, he really liked my mom, so I doubt he'd have left just like that."  
He quickly glanced at the clock and stretched his joints.

"Well, I really should be going then", he said and walked to the door.

"Nick!" Judy yelled after him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you... Uh, do you miss them? Your parents, I mean", she asked. Nick shrugged.

"Don't know. See you tomorrow."

"Be careful!"

"Sure, sure."  
With that he left, leaving Judy alone. She sighed and lied on the bed, looking at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and dreamed for a minute, but suddenly they fluttered open and she sat up.  
Her laptop was on her desk, switched on and a few webpages were open. She walked to the desk, sat down on the chair and started typing. On her computer she could access to the information of every registered citizen of Zootopia, alive or dead.  
It was only after past midnight when she finally found what she was looking for, and printed the page. Then she pretty much collapsed on her bed and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's chapter 2.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own. Still.**

 **-Chapter 2-**

The next day Judy and Nick had a day off, so they had promised to meet each other at twelve o'clock in the park, and when she walked there she saw that Nick was already waiting for her while playing on his phone. She took a deep breath and then hopped closer.

"Nick!" she yelled and waved, and the fox looked up from his phone and smiled.

"Heeey, partner", Judy said and playfully hit his arm.

"Hey", Nick said. "Well, let's not waste time. Do you want ice cream?"

"Yeah, ice cream sounds nice", Judy said and they started walking.

After they had only gone a few meters, Judy swallowed and said:

"Hey, Nick... Your father..."

"Hm? What about him?"

"His name... It's Piberius Wilde, isn't it?"

Nick's smile vanished and he froze.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, I am a cop and I can access some information. By the way, the last time you went to dentist was twelve years ago. You should really go check your teeth more often. Anyway", she told him and then took a small binder from her purse. It was decorated with glittery carrots, and Nick couldn't help but chuckle, even though he felt a bit annoyed. "I checked his records. There was no crime register or anything, so he never committed crimes..."

"Are you saying he should commit crimes because he's a fox?" Nick harshly asked.

"What? No! I just thought... Kinda weird a normal father disappeared just like that, without a trace."

"Okay... Carrots, I already told you, it's n-"

"Wait! There was a police investigation on him, but it ended abruptly in September the sixth, about four months after the disappearance."

"Yeah, I remember that. Our house was full of cops and my mother tried to look as representative as possible, so that they wouldn't call child custody."

The sentence shocked Judy.

"C-Child custody? Why?"

"I mean, she was a good mother and all, but, uh, the situation was what it was. We were poor, the apartment was moldy and there was also a bad roach infestation", Nick told her. "But then she died and I had to move out, so the problem was solved, I guess."

"So, as I was saying, the investigation. Why do you think they'd just end it, without any warning?"

"Because there wasn't any reason to find him?"

"Don't say that. There was no talk of a body, so they didn't find him dead, that's for sure."

"Carrots, you're looking too deep in this. Just give up already, you can't find him. Let just go eat that ice cream", Nick almost begged.

"Okay, fine", Judy said and put the binder back in her purse.

"And let's never talk about this again. I didn't see him after that day, and neither did anybody else. He's gone, alright", Nick said as they arrived the ice cream bar.

"How can you be so sure?" Judy wanted ask but kept her mouth shut.

They sat in silence and ate ice cream (Nick had blueberry ice cream and Judy had banana-chocolate ice cream with sprinklers), but she could not get her mind off of Piberius Wilde. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, and why she felt this way but she was almost certain the man was still alive and somewhere out there. Why would a man who had a family and a loving wife vanish just like that, leave his young son without a father figure? Judy knew that they had been very poor, but that is not a very good motive. Could it have been possible that Mr. Wilde had then been a victim of some crime? Perhaps he had lost his memory and now lived as Igor in the Tundra District, selling icicles for a living.

"So..." Nick cleared his throat. "I heard there was another incident last night."

"Huh?" Judy asked as she had not paid attention.

"Another overdose. The victim was found in the park and just like the others, he too had foam around his muzzle. This one was the youngest, by the way. Only fifteen", Nick told her.

"Oh, that drug case", Judy remembered. A new drug had begun to be distributed around Zootopia, but the ZPD had no idea who was making it and how. Anyway, it was very dangerous and there had been at least seven incidents who had overdosed the drug.

"It's quite sad, really. Young people wasting away their lives just like that", Judy remarked. Nick said nothing.

After they had finished their ice creams, they started walking around aimlessly, not really knowing how to spend the rest of their day off. They quickly checked if there were any movies, but none of them really interested both of them.

In the end they just returned back to the park and sat on the bench.

"Er... Judy", Nick started, making the bunny tense as he never used her first name. "I actually... Uh, well... I lied. A bit."

"Huh?" the bunny was perplexed.

"About my father. I actually saw him once after he had disappeared."

"What?"

"It was probably three years after he left. He came to our apartment, mom was already at work so I was alone. We talked and then he left and I never saw him again", Nick told. He felt his heart pounding in his chest; why did he feel so nervous?

"What did you talk about?"

"Nothing, really. I tried to inquire the reason why he left, but he kept avoiding the damn question. He gave me his address in case I wanted to visit... But when I did, after mom died, I found out the place had been empty for years. He did not come to mom's funeral", Nick said.

Judy was shocked. She was not sure what to say and the patted his back carefully.

"That sounds... Awful. But why didn't you tell me..?"

Nick sighed and got up.

"Anyway, I want you to stop trying to find him. Even if you did, what would it matter anymore?"

"Nick..."

"I'm serious."

He left without saying goodbye. Judy sighed and thought about what to do. Perhaps Nick had said all that because he just didn't want to be disappointed? Surely he'd like to see his father... To show what he had become. And of course, to ask why he had left. Judy's parents had always been there for her, despite all her other siblings, so she couldn't even imagine what it would have felt to become an orphan as young as Nick had. The fox didn't talk that much about his past, but Judy knew it wasn't very sweet.

Suddenly she got an idea. She glanced at the clock tower and saw that she still had a lot of time before dark, so she started heading towards the city center, where she knew a certain fennec fox lived in his red van.

Judy had not talked to Finnick a lot, but she knew he and Nick were still friends and contacted each other frequently. Judy wondered if it was hard for Finnick to be still friends with a cop, but apparently the two of them managed to pull it off.

The fennec was in his van, watching TV as he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He grabbed his bat and carefully opened the door, and lowered the bat as he saw it was Judy.

"Oh. The hare", he mumbled. "What do you want?"

"I need information. Now", she said.

"Are you going to arrest me?"

"No, I didn't come here as a cop... But as a civilian... Friend."

Finnick rolled his eyes.

"Well, come in then", he said and let Judy come through. The van was small, but actually quite nice and looked like a real home. Judy was surprised she didn't see lines of cocaine on the table, dirty underwear scattered around or bottles. The place was very tidy, and he even had flower patterned curtains.

"So, what do you want?" Finnick asked.

"You've known Nick since elementary school, right?"

"Well... Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Did you ever meet his father?"

"His father? No, never", Finnick replied.

"I see, but did Nick ever talk about his father?"

"No."

"Never?"

"Never."

"I see", Judy said and her ears drooped a bit. "But... Did he ever mention an address?"

"Address? What do you want to do with this information?"

"Just answer me."

"No, not that I know of."

Judy cussed under her breath. She was certain Nick would have told to his best friend, but apparently he hadn't.

"Only... No, that couldn't be..." Finnick murmured to himself.

"What?" Judy inquired.

"Well, before Mrs. Wilde's funeral, he asked me to come to some house in the outskirts of the town. I did, but it was all for nothing anyway."

Judy's ears shot up and her eyes widened.

"The address! Do you remember the address?!" she cried and shook Finnick by his shoulders violently.

"No, of course I don't! That was ages ago!"

"Damn..." Judy said and bit her nails. She had gotten so close.

"But it was near the western docks. Yellow brick apartment, if I remember correctly. There was a cleaner's place near but it was run out of business", Finnick said.

Judy quickly took a pen and a small notebook from her bag and wrote the information down. She praised Finnick's great memory inside her head, but of course she wasn't going to say anything.

"Okay, got it. Thank you, Finnick", she then said.

"So does Nick know about this?" he asked.

"K-Know about what?"

"That you're snooping around."

"Please do not tell him!" Judy begged. "I'm doing this for him. You understand, don't you?"

"What exactly are you trying to achieve, if I may ask?"

"I'm going to reunite a family. Nothing else."

She got up to leave.

"Well, thank you, Finnick. Again."

"Whatever", Finnick muttered. As Judy left, he took his cell phone from his pocket and thought for a long time. "Nah, why bother?" he then muttered and tossed the phone on his sofa and poured himself a bowl of kids' cereal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Third chapter! This chapter was a bit longer than the others. I don't know about you but I personally find it sometimes hard to focus reading very long chapters, but I hope this is okay. As always, there might be some mistakes. Sorry about them.**

 **By the way, I really want to thank everyone who's following this. I'm quite insecure about my writing so I always squeal of joy when I see I have a new follower. Thanks, folks!** ʕ￫ᴥ￩ʔ

 **Disclaimer: Nope, do not own.**

 **-Chapter 3-**

"Yup. Definitely OD'd."

"This is the fourth one this week, huh?"

"Yeah."

There was a huge commotion near the bridge as people wanted to see the body of a young pig, even though it had already been covered with a sheet. The police were trying to push the people away, but somehow they always managed to come back.

"The victim's probably around 20 years. No other visible injuries", and officer told to Nick and Judy who had just arrived. Nick was crouching near the body and carefully lifted the sheet to see the victim's face better. There was foam around his mouth and his snout had bled, even though only a little. His eyes were wide open and dry, and honestly, it kinda creeped Nick out.

"Isn't it kinda weird that they all have been found in public places? As if they were there for a reason", Judy thought aloud.

"Yeah, it's quite strange", Fangmire replied. He was biting a lollipop's stick and leaned on the patrol car. "But they have no connection. There are old people and young people and some aren't from here, so there isn't a pattern."

"Hey, look at this!" someone yelled and they all gathered around. "This was in his back pocket."

An officer showed them some kind of business card. It said:

 _Strip Club Euphoria_

 _524 Heavy Pine Street_

 _open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!_

The card had two pictures, a nude rabbit and a horse waitress wearing only a skirt and holding three glasses of champagne on a tray. Nick took the card.

"Hey, I know this place!" he exclaimed enthusiastically and everyone stared at him.

"I-I mean I know of this place", he corrected awkwardly. Everyone's eyes were still at him.

"I mean I know the owner. Stephanie Horde. A fox."

"Could it be that this is a place where they have gotten the drugs?" Judy wondered.

"Could be. Maybe you two should give Mrs. Horde a brief visit, huh?" proposed Fangmire. "But Nick, you better act civilized, okay?"

Nick pretended to be hurt.

"How can you say that, I'm _always_ civilized!"

"Okay, drama queen. Let's do that. I take it you guys'll wrap things up here?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, sure."

The fox and the rabbit then climbed into a car and Judy started driving. The radio turned on, playing "No More Mr. Mice Guy" and Judy tapped the steering wheel and hummed along.

As they had been driving a few minutes, Nick suddenly noticed a piece of paper that had dropped on the floor. To Judy's horror, he took it but she managed to rip t from his paws before he could even read it.

"It's just trash, forget it!" she said nervously. Nick looked at her with one eyebrow raised, but then shrugged and leaned back on his seat.

"So… This fox friend of yours… How did you become friends?" Judy inquired to break the awkward silence that had fallen.

"Oh, I never said we're friends", Nick claimed. "We're anything but friends. She doesn't really like me. Last time we met she tried to strangle me."

"Oh."

They arrived at the strip club and got out of the car. A dog had passed out drunk near the entrance, and they could see a couple making out in the dark alley.

"You sure you want to come? These guys are on another level. Nothing compared to the natur…"

"No need to remind me. Let's just go in."

"Sure."

They stepped inside the club and Judy felt like she was blinded by dozens of bright, colorful lights. The music was deafening and her eyes crumpled.

There were nude, dancing girls everywhere and she couldn't help but notice that most of the customers were old mean who all looked rich.

Judy didn't understand why Nick had insisted wearing his sunglasses inside, but she let it slide.

"Now we just need to find her!" Nick yelled at Judy. Obviously she didn't hear as she chuckled nervously. Nick rolled his eyes and kept walking forward, and accidentally bumped into someone, He apologized quickly and kept going, Judy following.

"Nick Wilde!" they heard someone yell and turned around. Judy saw a vixen who was wearing a yellow plaid shirt with the sleeved rolled all the way up, and her arms were tattooed with dots similar to a leopard's. She was wearing tight jeans, very tight, and she had a good amount of meat around her bones. She was wearing a white bandana with red polka dots around her head.

"Oh. Hey Steph", Nick said. "Long time no see, huh?"

"How dare you barge into here as if you and I are cool?!" she yelled angrily and got really close. "I should punch you!"

"Listen, Steph, I know we… Uh, that the circumstances were bad last time we met, but I need your help."

"What makes you think I want to help you?" the vixen spat out and then looked at Judy. "Who's this, another pawn of yours? Yeah, she is _very cute,_ now bunny, I'd advise you to watch yourself around this scoundrel."

"Stephanie, this is Judy Hopps from ZPD. I don't know if you already heard but I'm also a cop nowadays and this is about one case", Nick told. Judy waved at Stephanie nervously.

The vixen sighed and shook her head.  
"Fine, let's go out. You'll have five minutes."

"Thank you, Steph."

"Don't call me that."

They walked out using the back door and arrived to a small alley.

"Okay. Go ahead."

"Let's get straight to the point. DO you know anything about this newly developed drug?" Nick asked.

"Why are you asking me?" she asked while lighting a cigarette. "Ya know I don't do things like that."

"Yes, but there have been cases where animals have overdosed this drug and one of them had your business card. A pig. Sound familiar?"

"A pig…" Stephanie said and her eyes widened "You're not talking about Smitter?"

"I don't know, there was no ID!"

"Sm-Smitter had been away a few days. I don't know where he went, but…" Stephanie was speaking very quietly and she sounded like her voice would break any minute.

"Mrs. Horde, I'm very sorry", Judy said. Nick was staring at her not really knowing what to do.

"So… You know him? Did he ever mention the drug?" he asked carefully and Judy shot him a death glare. "Okay, sorry, whatever."

"C-Can I see him?" Stephanie asked.

"There's a small possibility it's some other pig", Judy said. "But someone needs to identify him anyway. Nick, drive her to the station."

"Me? Where are you going?"

"I have other business to attend to. I try to come back, though, but can't say for certain."

Nick sighed.

"Sure. Steph, go wait in the car."

The vixen nodded and walked away, leaving Nick and Judy alone.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing, really. By the way, how do you two even know each other?" Judy asked.

"Um… Let's just say we may have or may have not dated when we were younger"; Nick told her.

"I can't believe it! You were his boyfriend?!"

"Y-Yeah, but that only lasted like for a day", Nick said. "But I'll go now before she kills me for being so slow. Stay safe."

"You too."

Judy hailed a taxi and told the driver to go to the western docks. While they were on their way, he phone suddenly beeped. She saw that it was a text from Nick.

 _ **do u want 2 make pancakes l8r ?**_

She decided to answer later and put the phone back on her pocket. Then she just stared out of the window, waiting until they had come to the destination. And soon enough the taxi left her off near the docks, and she started walking forward, looking for the cleaner. After walking about two kilometers she cursed Finnick in her mind until she finally noticed a yellow brick house on the other street. She saw a donkey and an ox talking to each other and got carefully closer.

"Excuse me", she said. "Do you happen to know if there was a cleaner somewhere here years ago?"

The animals looked at here like she was a stupid tourist.

"Uh, yeah, I guess it was here. Why?" the ox answered.

"Where? Like here here?"

"Yeah, it must've been where that gun shop now is", the donkey said.

"Alright. Thank you!" she said and then walked to the yellow apartment. It must've been the right place, there's no way there could be so many brick houses of atrocious color!

She walked in and felt like the gods were watching over her because the first animal she saw was definitely the landlord, yelling about rent to someone's door. She apologized and introduced herself to the landlord who was a sheep, wearing a bright tank top and a headband. When she showed him her badge, the sheep tensed and cleared his throat.

"What business does a bunny cop have here?" he asked.

"I'm trying to find someone. I take it you have always been in charge here?"

"Yes, thirty years. So what do you want?"

"Information, of course. Do there happen to be any foxes that live here?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that", the landlord said harshly. "If that's all, you can leave."

"It's very important."

"I don't care. I have no reason to reveal any kind of information about these people, whether you're a cop or not", he said.

"I don't need to know anything else. Did a fox live here about twenty seven years ago?"

"Did you not hear me, missy? I have no reason to tell you anything. Okay? Now go."

Judy was frustrated and was going to say something when the door was suddenly opened ad a raccoon walked in. He was at least fifty years old, maybe even older, and his forehead was bleeding heavily. He staggered in and the landlord looked shocked.

"What happened?" he asked and helped the raccoon sit on a chair.

"T-They found me… They found me despite everything", the raccoon sad.

"Wait a second, I'll go fetch some bandages!" the sheep said. "You, bunny! Hold this on his forehead!"

He gave Judy a rag and Judy did as was told. The sheep disappeared and Judy tried to help the raccoon as well as she could.

"What happened? You can tell me, I'm from the ZPD. Judy Hopps", she said.

"It's really nothing"; the raccoon told. "I thought that they could never find me but they did anyway… I was foolish to think so."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, there's that big shot I angered when I was young and stupid. He has been after me all these years, that's why I live here now."

"Here? But why...?"

"Why? This is an asylum, of course. Here we are safe. No one can hurt us here."

"Asylum?" Judy was quite confused and didn't understand the old raccoon.

"Yes. Martin, that sheep, has been taking a good care of us all. Honestly, I just wish I could go back home but it's too dangerous. They'd probably come after my wife or my sons. Luckily I can still keep contact with them, even though it's hard", the raccoon told. Then he chuckled. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all this, maybe it's perhaps because I have no one to talk to. I must thank you for listening to an old man."

"If I weren't there for people when they need me, then what kind of cop would I be?"

"Yes, I guess that is so. I must ask you though to leave Martin alone. He doesn't deserve your harassment; he too is only here to help us."

"You're right. By the way, how long have you lived here?"

"Long enough to see Martin go through his goth phase", he told.

"I see. Then, do you remember a fox living here? About twenty s…"

"You must be talking about _him_ , huh? There was a fox, but he moved away years ago."

"Do you know whether or not he had a son?"

"I think yes, he once talked about a boy. I don't remember the name, though."

"That's okay", Judy said as she glanced at the wound on the raccoons forehead. Despite being very deep it had stopped bleeding, and she wetted the rag with the bottle of mineral water on the tabled and cleaned the wound. The raccoon cringed but didn't complain.

"Do you have any idea where he is now?"

"No, sorry. He left suddenly. There was no note or warning, he just vanished. Took one bag with him but let most of his stuff here", he replied.

"One more thing. Do you know why he was here?" Judy inquired.

"No, sorry."

"It's okay."

After a minute the sheep came back.

"Finally found them! Someone should really clean up here"; he mumbled He was out of breath ad if he had ran ten kilometers.

He looked at Judy.

"Why are you still here? Shoot!"

"Yes, sorry", Judy said. "Goodbye."

"Ms. Hopps! Wait!" the raccoon yelled after her.

"Yes?"

"McCoon's Car Repair Center. That's where you want to go next."

"I see. Thank you for your time."

"Anytime."

As she stepped out, she saw that she had gotten two more messages:

 _ **so no pancakes today:( where r u anyway? txt 2 me asap**_

and

 _ **btw steph recognized the body…but apparently she knew nothing bout the drug. they r still investigating her though**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's another chapter. I would actually have posted it earlier but first they showed Dumb & Dumber on TV and after that Cloverfield and I ended up watching them both and went straight to bed. Also I had a lot of problems with this chapter in general but here it is.**

 **To Bgnsteal: Hah, thanks for pointing out my mistake! It's fixed now, but I have been laughing a bit too much because of it. I'm glad you like the story.**

 **But yeah, there may be some mistakes. Sorry.**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own and never will. Oh well.**

 **-Chapter 4-**

Nick was lying on his worn couch, staring at the ceiling or more specifically the spider making a web on the ceiling. It was quiet except for the occasional sounds of water dripping from the faucet and his neighbor walking upstairs, and the annoyed grunts of the bored fox. He had texted Judy ages ago after he left the station, but the bunny didn't seem to answer and he had no idea why. He thought that maybe she had a reason why she hadn't seen the messages yet, like a movie. The thing about that though was that eight hours is a damn long movie, so he thought that Judy just didn't want to answer to him.

He got up and walked to the sink to get a class of water, and accidentally knocked over the painting on the counter. He took it in his hands and noticed that it was dusty, so he quickly wiped it clean with his paw. To be honest, he did not like the picture that much, but it was the only one he had before his mother died. In the picture she looked so healthy and full of live, unaware of the fact that in only few years she would die. She was smiling brightly in the picture, and her paw was on young Nick's shoulder. He was wearing his boy scouts uniform and his smile was even bigger than hers. Later the same day he had ended up beaten and muzzled by the other scouts.

They had not had a camera, but their neighbor downstairs, a Mexican wolf named Ricardo (Nick never found out his surname) had taken the picture with his camera, and in few days it appeared on their mailbox developed and framed. He probably wouldn't have gone through all the trouble if he had known about the boy scouts incident, but Nick couldn't blame him.

Ricardo moved away some years before Nick's mother's death, and Nick never saw him again.

He put the photograph back, next to the open bottle of sleeping bills and filled the glass with water. He drank it in one go and then checked his cell phone in case Judy had answered him, but there was nothing.

* * *

The repair shop was quite small, and there was no one around at the moment as Judy drove in with her rental car.

Judy was patiently waiting at the door until it was finally opened by a fat raccoon with messy fur and tired expression. The raccoon studied her. He was short, very short, barely taller than Judy was. He was wearing a gray hoodie that said: FAT BOTTOMED GRILLS and he had a flower-patterned band-aid on his cheek. His left ear was ripped in half.

"How can I help you, miss?" he asked with his eyelids pretty much drooping. His voice was surprisingly deep.

"Wait… How old are you?!" she blurted out and the raccoon's eyes flashed red.

"WHAT?"

"M-My car, I cannot get it to start. Could you take a look of it?" Judy asked quickly. She left out the part where she had rented it.

The raccoon snorted.

"Just leave it here. It'll be done in a few days. I'll send the invoice later."

"N-No, it's actually quite important to do now… Could you? Please? I'll pay some extra", Judy said.

"Fine, whatever", he said and walked out to the car. "So what's wrong?"

"I already told you, I cannot seem to get it to work. I'm bad when it comes to cars, but a friend of mine told about this repair shop", Judy told.

"Yes, we're the best in town", the raccoon said and Judy wasn't sure whether he was being sarcastic or not. "You may go in. My bro Allen's there, he'll give you coffee while you wait."

"Oh, thank you very much."

"Sure."

Judy walked up the stairs and opened the door, and what she saw was a small but cozy apartment. Although it was a bit messy and she hit her foot on a huge wrench that was lying on the floor, she wouldn't have minded if her apartment had looked like this.

"I was sent here", she said to the raccoon sitting on the couch. He got up immediately and shook her hand. Unlike the other raccoon, this one was very tall and slender and his fur was shiny and in perfect shape.

"Hello there, I am Allen McCoon! You're a customer, huh? Come here, I have coffee and sweets! Do you want carrot cake? No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be stereotyping… We have cinnamon buns as well. And cupcakes… And pancakes… We have every kind of cakes! Just say it and you shall have it!" he said enthusiastically as he forced Judy to sit on chair. One leg was shorter than the others and the chair kept rocking. He filled the table with pastries, coffee, tea and soda. Judy was baffled by it and decided to take a bite of the carrot cake.

"You like it? It's a new recipe! I personally really love carrots but my bro isn't much of a fan, so I rarely get to make carrot cake, but I'm glad I made it!"

"Y-Yes, it's very good", Judy said with her mouth full of carrot cake. As she swallowed it, she quickly took a sip of tea and then looked at Allen. "Listen though, I came here to talk. Do you know a raccoon who lives in the yellow apartment near the docks?"

Allen's smile vanished.

"M-Maybe… What about him?"

"Well, he told me to come here. Apparently you can help me", she told.

"Oh, I see. That must've been our father. Yes, he really likes sending everyone here. He's too lazy to talk to them, you see. It's clear that Chris - he's my brother - has his genes. Uh, anyway, it's true that we're the best repair shop in the town(!) so we're more than glad to help."

"Actually, it's not only about the car…"

The door slammed and the fatter raccoon walked in, looking annoyed.

"What the hell, miss? The car was out of fuel. No wonder you couldn't go anywhere, there was no fuel! AT ALL! Jeez, they truly do get dumber every day…" he said.

"Gas? Oh, I'm sorry, I honestly didn't know", Judy lied but squealed in her mind for the perfect lie. "You see, I'm only a stupid country bunny."

"Indeed you are."

"Chris! I'm sorry, miss, my bro didn't mean it", Allen apologized.

"It's okay. But hey, now that you're both here, maybe you can tell me a few things?"

Christopher sighed and rubbed his face with his paw sighed.

"What exactly?" he asked.

"Just some things concerning about a fox that used to live in the same apartment as your father", Judy told him.

"Our father? What are you…"

"Chris, you see, she has talked to our father and he has said that we can help her", Allen explained. "So it's our responsibility to help this boor, lost bunny!"

"Ugh."

"Don't you ugh me! Get a grip, Chris! Even the turtle lady has more energy than you and she's like 150!"

"So what? I'm not a turtle, nor a lady."

"I don't want yo interrupt or anything, but…" Judy said.

"Right! Sorry", Allen yelled. "What did you want to know?"

"I need to find that fox. It's very important."

Allen was just going to answer as his phone rang.

"Oh, it's Markov!" he walked out of the room and answered, and Chris sat on the chair while munching a marshmallow.

"What makes you think we know where some fox is? Last time I saw a fox it was probably three months ago. On TV."

"I understand, but you must know how to find him, why else would your father have sent me here?"

"I don't know, maybe because he's not..! Well, whatever. So… A fox. Aren't you the cop from TV by the way? Judy… Uh, Judy Jumps or something like that? Leaps?"

"Hopps."

"Bless you. So has this fox done something illegal or …?"

"No, of course not! I think. He is, you see… He is the father of a friend. He disappeared but I just recently found out about him. Anyway, I really want to find him, for the sake of my friend", Judy told.

"Hrrrnh", Chris growled. "Why should I even help a cop?"

Judy had no idea what kind of people these raccoons were, but she couldn't help but think they weren't all that innocent. Well, neither was her partner but that didn't bother her as much as it probably should. And if the raccoons could help her to find Nick's father, she really didn't have other choice than to trust them.

"Listen, I don't know what kind of backstory you have, but I bet you two are cool, and I promise to let any… Uhm, anything slide if you help me find this person!"

"Hrrrrrrrnh. Whatever. I'll help you."

"Really?"

"But don't get your hopes up, bunny. Some of these people don't want to be found for a reason. And some of them have been found and now they're lying in the bottomless pit, rotting as the maggots eat…"

"Okay, I get it! No need to get into details, please."

Just then Allen came back and walked straight to the door. He grabbed a red jacket and said:

"I got to go. Markov wants to see. He sounded angry, did you do something?"

"No. Do you want me to come with you?" Chris asked.

"No", his brother replied.

"Whew, good. Because I wouldn't have come."

"I know. I'll be back later."

"Who's Markov?" Judy asked the second Allen had left.

"I guess you could call him our employer. A typical big shot, nothing more."

"What kind of work do you do?"

"It's none of your business, Cupcake. Besides, shouldn't it be me asking questions and not you?"

"Sorry."

"Whatever. Anyway, I think I know which fox you're talking about."

"You do?"

"Yeah, if he really lived in the same apartments as father. But he refuses to meet people."

"Where is he?"

"At the moment? I don't know. He's an interesting person, I'll tell ya that. He never stays in one place for long. Always changing his location and name."

"I see. Do you have any idea how I could find him now?"

"Just let me ask something first. Are you going to bust his ass?"

"W-What? Why would I?"

"No reason, I guess", Chris answered but Judy could feel he didn't tell everything. The raccoon suddenly got closer and stared deep into Judy's eyes.

"But know this, Cupcake. If you suddenly turn on me or my brother, you're gonna have a lot more problems than just some old fox. Get it?"

Judy nodded in horror and then Chris just suddenly grinned again.

"Okay, good we have that cleared. That fox you're talking about… He is a… Er, a business partner of Markov. Well, maybe I can set up a meeting with you two but it'll cost you", Chris said.

"How much?"

"Three grand plus gas money."

Judy's eyes widened.

"Three grand? I could _buy_ him a father with that money!"

"Well, do that then. Good thing you don't need me, it's such a bother."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Is it possible I'll pay later? You know, after we've found him?"

"That's not how we do things around here, missy."

Judy gritted her teeth.

"Is it too much money? Well, that's life. You need to find this fox and we need money. It's your decision."

"Fine, you'll have your three grand", Judy spat out. "I'll give them tomorrow."

"Great. Oh, and by the way. I want cash", Chris said and got up. "It was marvelous to do business with you. I'll talk to Markov after I get the needful."

Judy got up to leave when Chris coughed.

"Ahem… What makes you think I'd "repair" that car of yours for free?"

"How much?" Judy sighed.

"70."

Reluctantly she took a hundred dollar bill from her wallet and slammed it on the table. Then she glanced at him angrily as she left, and caught a glimpse of the devilish grin on Chris's face.

"Nick better appreciate my effort", she mumbled to herself as she walked down the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**So here's another chapter. It actually was way longer at first but I decided to split it in half. As always, it probably has some mistakes. Hope you like it.** ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

 **Disclaimer: Do not own.**

 **-Chapter 5-**

He wake up panting, taking gasping breaths and as he glanced at the clock, he saw that it was only 3:20. His paw moved instinctively to his back that felt sore. It had been years since the last time he had had that nightmare, but probably all the talk of his father had brought it back.

He sighed in defeat as he knew he couldn't fall back sleep, so he just got up and walked straight to the bathroom. He had seen better days. His red fur was a mess and looked like it was losing color already and his eyes were red and dry. He quickly washed his face to refresh himself, but it didn't really do anything.

Nick walked to the kitchen and started fixing himself a cup of coffee.

* * *

As morning came, Judy was already at the station, striking up a conversation with officer Clawhauser as she was waiting for her partner. It wasn't unusual for Nick to be late, no way, but soon the briefing would start and she didn't want to miss it because of him.

She was also nervous, because today was the day the raccoon would talk to his boss who'd talk to Nick's father, and perhaps they could meet. She desperately hoped so, but prepared to be disappointed anyway.

As Nick finally came, she noticed he looked very tired but didn't say anything as they had to hurry to the briefing.

Their job was to sit at stakeout, watching their prime suspect Stephanie Horde. Judy wasn't there during the interrogation but had Nick filled her in. Apparently Stephanie had mentioned a drug but refused to tell anything more. They sat in the car in silence, apart from the occasional bored sighs.

"So… Did you get my message?" Nick asked after he'd switched his position. Again.

"Oh, I totally forgot about them. I'm sorry, I was busy. Do you want to make pancakes some other day, maybe next Saturday?" she asked. He shrugged.

"So… Do you think it'll rain tonight?" she asked as she looked at the cloudy sky.

"Most likely", he said. Judy noticed that he was talking very quietly, and his whole aura seemed different. Also he kept rubbing his back as if it ached a lot.

She gathered up her courage and then asked:

"Is something wrong, Nick?"

"Huh? Of course not", he said and smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem kinda… off", she said. "You know you can tell me if something's bothering you, right?"

"Sure", he replied.

"So", Judy said after a long silence. "Do you want to watch a movie again someday? How about Humanopolis? I heard it's good."

"Isn't it a kids' movie?" Nick asked dully.

"W-Well, not really. I know many adults that liked it. So how about it? Sound interesting?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Okay, seriously, what's wrong? You're acting weird", she said.

"I'm just a bit tired", he claimed and flashed her an even more obvious fake smile as the last one.

"Okay"; Judy said even though she didn't buy it. She then put on the radio so that there was something to break the awkward silence.

She had no idea how long they had already been there, but she was getting bored out of her mind. She was just asking Nick if he wanted to eat as there was a supermarket nearby, but realized he had fallen in sleep. She smiled and decided to wait until the fox would wake up because it seemed he needed this sleep. She also felt a bit jealous. She too would just like to sleep and ignore the whole stakeout job, but of course she couldn't.

She kept staring at the small house and tapping the steering wheel with her small fingers. She wondered if Stephanie knew she was being watched and maybe she had prepared for it in advance, but according to Nick she had been quite distressed so she probably hadn't. Or maybe she was just a good actor.

Her thoughts we're interrupted by the sudden quickening breaths of Nick and she realized he wasn't seeing any pleasant dreams. She carefully shook him awake.

"You had a nightmare", she said.

"Yeah", he muttered.

"Do you get them often?"

"Not really."

"What was it about?"

"Nothing", he said and Judy noticed how he touched his back again.

"Does it hurt?" Judy asked.

"Huh?"

"You back, I mean. You're constantly touching it."

"No", Nick said.

"Don't lie."

"Okay, it stings a little. But it's normal."

Why was it so hard to get the fox to speak, she wondered in her mind. Sure, she knew he didn't like to show any "weaknesses" but this was getting ridiculous. She was her partner, for god's sake! He should be able to tell her anything!

"So… Do you want anything to eat?" she then asked.

"Well, I am a bit hungry", he answered.

"Okay. I'll go buy something, you make sure no one leaves or enters the house. What do you want?"

"Surprise me."

"Okay. And no sleeping anymore, got it?" she joked and smiled as she left.

Nick yawned as he continued looking at the house. He knew some stakeouts take weeks, but Stephanie was a woman with a job and needs. Why didn't she even come out to smoke? When they had been dating, she used to smoke a pack in one day, so it was weird she hadn't even opened a window.

Soon Judy came back with two sandwiches and she gave the other to Nick.

"I hope you like tuna" she said.

"Hell yeah", Nick replied and took a bite of the sandwiches. It was heavenly good.

"That's great. Now, I don't care for it as we bunnies are vegetarians, but I thought that you might", she said.

While they ate the sandwiches, a raccoon walked past the house and Nick turned to Judy.

"Want to hear a joke?"

"Sure."

"What is a raccoon's favorite music genre?" Nick asked. Judy thought about it for a long time. What kind of music do raccoons listen to? She thought about Chris and Allen. While Chris seemed the type to like rock, Allen probably enjoyed calmer music.

"I don't know. What is a raccoon's favorite music genre?"

"Trash metal."

* * *

"What if she isn't even home?" Nick though aloud. "She's not an idiot, after all."

"Yeah, I guess that's a possibility", Judy admitted.

"If that's so, I'm going to kill chief Bogo", she joked and Nick grinned. He was clearly feeling better.

It was getting even darker and they both were feeling restless and bored. Nick kept scratching his back as if he had fleas, and Judy was getting nervous as she usually didn't sit for this long and it made her butt hurt.

"So… Where did you meet Ms. Horde?" she inquired.

"I think we both know where we met", Nick said and Judy felt her cheeks burning.

"Oh. Right. Of course."

Nick wondered if Judy had really finally given up trying to search for his father, although he knew that it wasn't like Judy to do that. He really hoped she had stopped, and she hadn't mentioned him even once which was a good sign. Judy wondered if Nick knew that she was so close finding his father. She couldn't wait for their reunion.

Nick took his phone and started playing with it, and truthfully Judy didn't really appreciate the fact that he wasn't focusing properly on their so-called mission.

"What do you think", he said after a minute, "if we take a little break? She hasn't come out for hours. Why would she come if we're away for a second?"

"No way, Nick. We need to do this properly", she said.

"But come one, fifteen minutes. I know this bar that's nearby, we could go for one drink. Just one. What about it?"

Judy really wanted to have a break and she was frustrated because she was supposed to meet Chris during daytime, but she couldn't just leave.

"No one will know", Nick said. "Just one drink. Okay?"

She gave him a frustrated sigh.

"Okay, but only because my legs hurt. One drink. Where is this place?"

"Nearby. Come."

Nick stepped out of the car and Judy followed. It was quite chilly and the wind was blowing.

The bar wasn't exactly as close as she thought it would be, and was relieved as they finally arrived. It looked a lot like a fancy tavern and as Nick opened the door, she saw that it was small but there were a lot of people. An ox was playing poker with a dog and a platypus, and an old man was reading the paper in the corner. The small TV on the wall was on, and it showed a wrestling match between a kangaroo and a rooster, and surprisingly the rooster was winning.

Nick sat on the stool and Judy hopped on the one next to it.

"Hey Matt, two beers for me and my buddy", he said to the panther behind the counter. The panther poured beer slowly to two glasses (one was way smaller, thank god) and then gave them to the pair. Judy drunk alcohol rarely so she was a bit hesitant at first, but only then she realized how thirsty she actually was and chugged it all down on one go.

"Whoa, look at you! I never knew the bunny was such a drinker!" Nick joked and got a dirty glare from Judy, which made him laugh.

"Another", she said just to tease Nick and was served another beer. Nick gritted his teeth and said:

"Matt, one Liver Destroyer, please", he said. The panther nodded and turned around. On the shelf there was a huge glass that he took and filled with beer. He gave it to Nick who started drinking.

"Oh, and some fries", he said quickly.

Judy ordered another pint but started feeling a bit nauseous. As she watched Nick drink from the huge glass, she couldn't help but wonder how he did it. He finished the drink and used his sleeve to wipe his muzzle clean.

"Hey, Jose", Nock suddenly said and turned to the horse who was sitting two stools away from him. "Wanna hear a joke?"

"No", the horse said harshly.

"Okay, here goes. A horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks… Wait…. What was it? I forgot", he said and laughed obnoxiously. "Oh yeah! The bartender asks… "Why the long face?"!"

The horse clearly had heard this joke from Nick many times already, and he just muttered curses under his breath and returned back to his sandwich.

"Geddit?!" Nick yelled. "He asks: "Why the long face?"! 'Cuz it's a horse!"

The horse looked like it was doing his best to not to punch Nick.

"Haha, good one", Nick said to himself and took a fry. Judy was uncomfortable and decided that they'd leave.

"Come, Nick. We need to return to the car", she said but Nick laughed.

"What's the hurry? We have all day, don't we?"

"Nick, seriously. You've had enough", she remarked, but it was as if the fox didn't hear me.

"Hey, Matt, free bears to everybody! It's on me! Oops, I meant beers!" he yelled and everyone (expect for Matt, Judy and Jose) cheered and praised Nick, and the panther just nodded and began serving.

"Nick, I'm serious. Let's go. If they find out about this, we can lose our jobs!" Judy shouted.

"Whatever. I don't need no job", Nick said and hiccupped. "But you can go already. I'll follow." Then he laughed at the horse-joke even more.

"Nicolas, I'm serious."

"Hold up, Carrots! Are you deaf? I said you could go already", he slurred. "Tell Steph I said hello, haha."

"Okay, maybe I'll go then", Judy said angrily. "But don't except I'll lie to Chief Bogo for you, okay?"

She jumped down from the stool and walked towards the door.

"Look at her, ain't she cute, haha… Look at how her tail wiggles!" she hear Nick say and her cheeks were burning from embarrassment as she marched out of the bar. When the door closed, she leaned on the wall and realized that she was crying, and she hated herself for it. She hated fighting, especially with Nick.

It has started snowing, and the ground was turning white.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Whatever", she said and walked back to the car. She felt like her whole day was ruined: first she got the most boring job ever, then she couldn't meet with Chris and talk about Nick's father and then the drunk Nick yelled at her and she had never felt as horrible as she did now.

She returned to the car when she realized that Ms. Horde's door was slightly ajar. She was not sure whether or not it had been like this the whole time and she hadn't just noticed, but now it was clear. Her curiosity took the best of her and she walked to the house, and carefully opened the door. The lights were off and she could only make dim shapes in the dark as she stepped it. The door mat said:

"The neighbors have better stuff". She smiled and brushed the snow from her feet. She walked to the living room and accidentally hit her toe on a table's leg. She hissed and cursed, and raised her head when her heart stopped and eyes widened.

The vixen was there, hanging from the ceiling with a rope around her neck and her eyes dull and lifeless.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, here's the new chapter. I have tried to publish new chapters every day, but I have an exam the day after tomorrow and I already failed it once, so I must study a lot, and then the next day my dad and I are traveling 600 kilometers to see a hockey game and we stay there a few days so I'm not sure when I'll be posting the next chapter. I'll promise I'll try to do it asap.**

 **By the way, at the moment I'm watching two foxes walking across the ice that's about 15 meters from my window. The other's fur is really bright. Here's a picture! (very low quality though):** **i-m-g-u-r-.-c-o-m-/-pg4nVKi** **(remove the dashes, yo)**

 **And I really appreciate your comments! But even if you don't comment, thanks for reading anyway!**

 **To hcro8758: To be honest, I have no idea how many chapters there will be, but of course I'll write more. I'm sorry, I don't have Instagram but if I did, you'd be more than welcome to follow me.**

 **Okay, I guess I should really stop talking now.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine, nope.**

 **-Chapter 6-**

Finnick was angry. He was very angry and tired and he just wanted to go back to bed to sleep. He couldn't, but he really hoped he could. And the sole reason to that was that damn fox who had gotten drunk again and needed to be retrieved by Finnick from the bar. Poor Finnick had just gotten ready to sleep as the bar's owner Matthew Pandora called him and told him to come get Nick. So no, of course he couldn't disobey.

It wasn't the first time he had to go get him, but it had been long since the last time, over a year. Actually, when Nick joined the police force, he stopped going to the bar as much. The fox couldn't hold his liquor at all, few pints and he was already piss drunk.

Finnick, despite being very small, helped Nick to come inside his van and as the fox fell asleep on the couch, he tossed a blanket to him, put a water class on the table and an empty bucket to the floor next to him.

"If you vomit on the floor, I'll use your face to mop it. Got it?" Finnick threatened even though he knew Nick didn't hear him. Then he climbed back onto his bed and fell asleep. Neither of them had very pleasant dreams.

* * *

In the morning Nick woke up to the smell of coffee and the sunlight beaming on his eyes and got groggily up. He had drool on his cheek and the fur was pointing everywhere, and his head was throbbing more than after the New Year's party ten years back. The radio was on, playing "Enter Coarse and Rough and Irritating Man" by Murtallica but it really made his head ache more.

"Shit", was all he could say, and his voice was hoarse and his throat was raspy. He saw the glass of water and drunk it all in one go.

Finnick was on the other side, reading news on his phone and eating.

"Slept well?" Finnick asked a bit mockingly.

"Like a baby", he joked. "I really screwed up, huh?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there. Where'd you leave that bunny friend of yours?"

Nick slammed his head against the table.

"Deer god, let me die already", he mumbled. "I'm going to get fired, aren't I?"

"Don't ask me, you're the cop here. But you _did_ get drunk on duty, so don't expect them to brush it off that easily."

"And Judy must be disappointed. Fuck", Nick cursed.

"Not to mention your uniform totally reeks of alcohol."

"It does?"

"Yes."

Nick banged his head on the table once more.

"Hey, careful!" Finnick yelled. "The table's fragile."

Nick let out a frustrated sigh.

"I really need to call her."

"Then do so."

"I can't."

"Then don't, I don't care. Anyway, I need to go soon"; Finnick said as he got up.

"Where?"

"You know, even though you got a real job, I need to earn my money the old way."

"Oh, right."

"But I have a new partner now, so it's not too hard."

There was a knock on the door.

"Speaking of the devil!" Finnick exclaimed as he opened the door and in walked a very pretty arctic fox who was wearing a tight red jacket her eyes were all black. The white fox kissed Finnick on his nose and Nick couldn't hide his surprise as he stared at the two with his mouth hanging open.

"Wilde, this is Ekaterina"; Finnick introduced her. "Ekaterina, Wilde."

"Привет! Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Екатерина. Как дела?", she said enthusiastically as she took Nick's paw and shook it so hard that he was afraid she'd broke something.

"She doesn't speak English", Finnick told the perplexed Nick.

"I-I see", Nick replied.

"But we need to go now. There's cereal in the cabinet and milk's in the fridge. Help yourself", he said and then turned to Ekaterina. "Let's go."

The vixen kissed him again and said:

"Я вас люблю."

"Yeah, sure. We need to hurry. See ya later, Wilde."

"Пока."

"Yeah... Later", Nick said and they left.

At some point as Nick had eaten, washed himself and sprayed a lot of Oxe-body spray on his uniform, he looked at the clock and saw that he was already two hours late from work. That is if he still has any work.

It took him a lot of willpower to step out of the van and start walking towards the station, and his headache wasn't really helping. He was afraid of confronting Judy, but he needed to talk to her and apologize. He really cared for that bunny.

The station was even busier than normally as he stepped in. Clawhauser saw him approaching and waved happily to the fox.

"Nick! So you're already better then", he said.

Only a bit, Nick thought and smiled to him. They didn't talk about him getting fired, which gave Nick hope. Or then Bogo just hadn't told the others yet.

"What's the fuzz?" Nick then asked.

"This is relating the case. By the way, Judy said she needed to talk to you. I guess she is with Bogo, her being the key witness and all."

"Okay. Thanks, buddy."

"No problemo!"

Nick didn't really pay attention to the word "key witness" and though automatically it was about him as he walked to the office of their chief. He took a deep breath and knocked, but just as his knuckles were colliding with the door, it was yanked open.

"Nick?!"

"Carrots!"

An awkward silence ensued.

"Uh… Can I talk to you?" he asked.

At first Judy looked like she was angry, but then she smiled and looked almost compassionate.

"Maybe later", she said quietly and walked away. Nick stared after her not understanding what was happening when Chief Bogo called him in. He complied.

"So. Good that you're better", the chief started and gestured Nick to sit on the chair.

"I guess no one told… Wait. Is that Oxe that I smell?"

"Uh… Maybe."

"Good choice. Well, I'll just be straightforward with you. Miss Stephanie Horde was found dead at her home yesterday night", Chief Bogo said. It took Nick a minute to process what he was just told.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry."

"H-How did she...?"

"Suicide by hanging. However, Linda is performing an autopsy on her body, just to check whether or not this is crime-related."

Nick felt sick to his stomach and wanted to vomit. He never even thought of the possibility that Stephanie, of all people, would just go and kill herself. Sure, they weren't exactly the best of friends but they had known each other for years.

"Officer Wilde?"

"Huh?" Nick hadn't heard his name being called the previous two times.

"Lost you there for a second. Is everything alright?"

"Uhh… I…"

"Listen. I'd advise you to take the day off. Go home, clear your thought and come back when you feel like it, be it tomorrow or after two weeks. Okay?"

"No, I'm fine, just a bit shocked. I… Er, was that all then?" Nick asked. Chief Bogo Leaned back on the chair.

"I guess. However, I understand if you want to leave."

"N-No, I want to stay."

"Very well."

Nick walked away from the office and the buffalo couldn't help but sigh at the fox's stubbornness.

Judy was in the cafeteria, grabbing a bite before returning to work. On her hand there was a small letter, written neatly with beautiful, cursive letters. The letter was addressed to Nick so she thought it would be fair to let him read it before anyone else, which is why she hadn't told about it to anyone. She was studying the letter (of course she hadn't read it) and she couldn't really imagine what Nick felt. Also, they weren't any closer on the case. In fact, it seems they knew even less now that they did earlier.

As she had eaten, she put the letter on her pocket and tried to found Nick. Strangely enough, no one had seen him after he had come out from the office. She later found him in the storage, sitting next to stacks of papers and boxes.

"Hey, Nick", she said carefully and sat next to him.

"Hey", the fox answered.

"Uh… I didn't tell them about the bar thing", Judy said.

"Thanks."

"But I can't be certain they'll never find out."

"So… About Ms. Horde. Her family is in Zootopia at the moment, but they're leaving after few days taking her home, where she is to be buried next to her unborn brother."

"She would probably want to be buried next to Smitter", Nick said.

"Well, her family has already made that decision. Besides, we have yet to contact Smitter's next of kin because we don't know anything about him. There was no ID or phone. Smitter most likely isn't even his real name."

"I see..."

"Hey... Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"No, seriously."

"I'm fine."

"And… One more thing", Judy said as she gave the letter to Nick. "It's for you. From her."

Nick took the letter and unfolded it. There were few stains and he realized she had been crying when she had written it. Nick quickly turned away from Judy as he started reading.

 _"Dear Nick_

 _I'm writing this letter because I have something to confess._

 _I killed Smitter._

 _Well, not_ _ **killled**_ _killed, but it was my fault he died._

 _I have never felt more horrible as I do now._

 _You see, this one guy once came to talk to me. He was wearing a suit and he had a briefcase with him. He looked, how should I put it, very important._

 _He told me about the drug. Not everything, of course, but he told it would bring me a lot of money. I wouldn't say I'm poor, the club is a good source of profit. But still I agreed to help to distribute the drug. I don't know why, guess he was just a total silver-tongue._

 _I sold some to those huskies that used to come to the club a lot, but they stopped coming. I thought nothing of it; maybe they were on a vacation. But now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure they're dead. I know one of them lives in Tundratown and the other two who are twins live not far from the park._

 _I asked Smitter if he wanted to taste the drug, and he did, and now he's dead. He's dead and I killed him._

 _I cannot live with the guilt but I also cannot live without him, because I really loved that pig. My time to go is soon, but I wanted to tell you all this at first._

 _The person I talked about. He was a jackal, but now that I thought about it later, he must be working for someone. I have no idea who, but I hopes this'll help you._

 _Honestly, Nick, if we had worked a bit more for our relationship, would things be different now?_

 _Nah, I doubt so. Nevertheless, I'll miss you._

 _Goodbye. Sorry._

 _Signed_

 _Stephanie Kana Horde"_

After Nick had read the letter, he folded it and gave it to Judy.

"I think Bogo should see this", he said.

"Yeah. Are you…"

"Stop asking that!" Nick snapped but clamed immediately. "Sorry. I shouldn't have."

"No, it's okay… By the way, I too wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"For what happened at the bar."

Nick swallowed.

"No, you were right… I… Uhm…" He swallowed his pride. "I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again."

"May I ask?"

"Sure."

"Has it happened often?"

"A few times. Come", Nick said and helped Judy get up. "We have some work to do, don't we?"

"Yes, you'll go. I have some errands to run first", Judy said. She had a meeting with a raccoon, and a lot of money in her bag.

She hoped that the raccoon wasn't too mad about her being a day late.


	7. Chapter 7

**Welp, I'm back. Our country lost the hockey game and I'm really mad (feels bad), but I'll survive. Maybe. I hope we'll do better in the World Championships.**

 **I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but it's important for the sake of the plot. Don't worry, next chapter should be a bit better.**

 **Disclaimer: Do I own Zootopia? No, I do not.**

 **-Chapter 7-**

"Are my eyes deceiving me, or is it really the bunny?"

Judy had walked all the way to car repair center and Chris just happened to be out working on some car. There was an oil stain on his knee and a wrench on his hand as he got up.

"Yep. It's me. I would've come yesterday but… Well, I was busy then", she explained.

"Ah. That's cool", Chris said. "Do you have the money?"

"Y-Yeah, it's in the bag. Three thousand, right?"

Chris quickly looked around and then looked at the bag that Judy had opened. There were stacks of money and he grinned.

"Well, well. You actually did it."

"But do not tell anyone, you know how bad this makes me look", Judy said.

"Well. I shall take these and count them. You're lucky I'm on a good mood though, I can arrange the meeting for tonight."

"Wha… Really?"

"Yeah. Come on in."

They walked upstairs to the raccoons' apartment, and Allen was writing something on the table. Judy noticed that his left eye was all swollen and there was a small cut on the corner of it.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Markov", Chris said grimly, with his voice full of hate.

"Just a small fight!" Allen laughed.

"Markov? Your boss? The guy I'm supposed to meet? That Markov?"

"What do you thing, how many Markovs are there in Zootopia?" Chris mockingly asked and Judy shut up.

She put the bag on the table, and Chris started immediately counting the money. He was very fast, which was a surprise to Judy as she was sure he sucked at numbers.

Judy and Allen followed closely as he counted them, and as it was over, he was grinning like a maniac.

"Three grand, bro. With this kind of money we can start a new life elsewhere! Can you believe this, bro?" he asked Allen.

"Yeah! Where should we go? I have always wanted to live in Hogdale!"

Judy ignored their comments as it had nothing to do with her.

"So… About Markov…"

"Oh, yeah. I'll just phone him. Wait a sec, Cupcake", Chris said and took his cellphone. He chose Markov's number from the list and dialed it.

Judy was nervous but somehow quite excited. She was so close in finding Nick's father, but she was really afraid of seeing Markov.

"Are you afraid?" Allen asked and she quickly shook her head.

"N-No, of course not. I'm a cop, we aren't supposed to be afraid", she said.

"I see", Allen said. "It's a good thing you're not afraid then. They say he can smell fear, and he really hates cowards…"

"I-Is that so?"

"But just be cool. You're going to do fine, and we'll be there."

Chris came back.

"Well, he'll see us. If we're fast enough, Markov hates unpunctual animals", he told her.

"Markov hates a lot of things, doesn't he?" Judy asked.

"Yep", Chris said. "He also hates cops. You'll need to change."

Judy eyed her uniform and then looked frustrated.

"What am I supposed to wear? I didn't bring any kind of spare clothing!"

"Allen, give her a hoodie", Chris commanded and walked to a drawer. He opened it and much to Judy's dismay, he took a Glock 17 from the drawer and loaded it.

"What the…"

"Precaution", the raccoon said. "You need to take yours too."

Judy hesitantly nodded. Allen came from a room and threw her a very big, red hoodie that looked like a hooded dress as she quickly put it on.

Chris threw a gun to Allen who didn't catch it, and it slid behind a shelf. As he was trying to take it, Judy looked at Chris.

"These are legal, right?"

"Of course, Cupcake", Chris replied. "Let's roll."

Judy's heart was beating more than it ever had, and she was genuinely scared as they turned to an alley and walked through an old house to a tunnel.

"Where does he live?"

"Markov? Like in seven different places. But he spends most of his time in Haybay"; Chris explained.

"Haybay? Sounds like a barn."

"Exactly."

The tunnel was damp and water was dripping from several places, but the tunnel itself was pretty clean.

"So Cupcake", Chris said at one point as they had arrived to a door. "There are few things you must know before we go in."

"What are those?" Judy asked and her voice was shaking a bit.

"Okay. First. Markov hates small talk. Don't talk to him about weather, work or politics", Chris said. "Understand?"

She nodded.

"And don't threaten him. He doesn't like that he is the one being threatened. Seriously, he'll kill you if you say anything like that", Allen said. Judy could feel that he was feeling bit scared as well. What had Allen done that had made Markov punch him in the face?

"You gotta be polite", Chris said.

"Wipe your feet", Allen instructed.

"Stand tall, chest out and feet together. Show that your posture is good", Chris continued.

"Bow to him when you see him."

"Yeah, or actually kneel in front of him. If possible, compliment his swords on the wall."

"And don't – no matter what – don't ever let him know that you have bought a gun!" Allen warned.

"Yeah, if you do, we're all as good as fucking dead"; Chris said. "Got all that, Cupcake? Still wanna go?"

"Y-Yeah. Sure", she answered.

"Hmmh. Feisty. I like that", Chris said.

He turned to the door and knocked.

"Here we go", he muttered as the door was opened.

It was a huge room with bookshelves filled with old, dusty books and in the middle of the room there was a table and a red rose in a vase. The fireplace was on the left side of the room, ith logs burning slowly and next to the fireplace there was a huge armchair.

The door had been opened by a lynx who nodded and bowed a little as he saw the raccoons and let them in.

"Tell Markov we've arrived", Chris said to the lynx who bowed again and walked to the staircase on the right side of the room, and then left the room.

"What's that smell?" Judy asked.

"Huh? Hay, of course", Chris replied.

"Hay?"

"Hay being smoked", he elaborated.

"Smoked? Hay?"

"Oh, for god's sake! Drugs!" he snapped and Judy shut up. If anyone at the station would ever find out, her career would be in trouble. She had to make sure no one would ever find out.

"What kind of animal is this Markov?" she asked.

"You'll see soon enough", Chris said.

They waited a few minutes, standing nicely in a line as they finally heard footsteps. They saw the lynx arriving.

"Markov will see you now."

"Thanks, Stroganov", Chris said and patted the lynx on his shoulder.

"It's Sokolov", the lynx said but no one was there anymore to hear him.

Markov was a wolverine, about the same size as Nick, and he was wearing a black suit and a red tie and his eyes were blood red and looked like they were glowing. Across the left side of his face there was a nasty looking scar and Judy wondered whether or not the eye was real or glass.

She remembered what the raccoons had said and knelt on the ground and bowed her head. She could feel the wolverine standing right in front of him, breathing heavily and as he took a step, Judy could hear a wooden clang coming from his leg. But the wolverine didn't seem too old; he wasn't most likely more than thirty.

The atmosphere was tense and Judy tried to do anything to stop herself from shaking, but failed miserably. She had no idea how long she should bow anyway.

" _Ser_ Markov", she heard Chris said. "This is the bunny we talked about. June Dopps."

June wanted to hit Chris for making up such a poor fake name, but of course it was better than nothing.

"I see. Stand, _krolik_ ", Markov told and she immediately hopped on her feet.

"J-June Dopps, at your service, sir!" he yelled in panic. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir!"

The wolverine's expression was condescending, but Judy tried hard to ignore it. She had forgotten everything the raccoon brothers had told to her.

The wolverine studied Judy for long and sniffed her, and then grinned.

"Yes, very young and healthy. I'd pay a lot for this kind of young _krolik_ "; he said.

"Not for sale", Chris said harshly. "We're here to do business, not to get you women."

"I see", the wolverine said. Then he looked at Allen and stared long at his eye.

"Scum"; he whispered very, very quietly but it did not go unnoticed by Chris who took a step forward.

"What did you call him?!"

"Chris, enough", Allen commanded.

"Hmph. So. About the _krolik_. I hear she wishes to meet a certain fox", Markov said. "You don't often hear about a bunny wanting to meet a fox, their natural enemy."

God, the wolverine talked so much! Couldn't they just get straight to the point?

"Are you a friend of the fox?" Markov asked her. She didn't know how to answer, but then decided to nod.

"I see."

There was something scary in his voice.

"I would be happy to show you that traitorous, filthy fox", he continued with a sudden change of tone. It was filled with hatred. "That fox. He betrayed me today. He killed four of my men!"

Judy's heart lurched in her chest, and she clenched her fists.

"The fox?" Allen repeated surprised. "What hap…"

"Are you here to finish the job?" Markov asked. "' _Hero cop kills the biggest drug syndicate's owner',_ that sound nice to you?"

How did he find out? was the only thing Judy could think. Only then she realized Chris was communicating non-verbally with him, moving his lips very slightly, but just enough for her to make up the word RUN.

The wolverine pulled out a gun and the hair on Judy's back stood up.

"RUN!" Chris commanded aloud and pulled out his gun. "I'll handle this!"

"No!" Judy yelled but Allen grabbed her by her small waist and held tight as he started running downstairs. Judy could see Chris trying to shoot Markov while dodging the bullets, but he managed to give the two enough time to run away. Markov was shouting something in Russian, but Judy had no idea what he was saying.

They ran past the lynx who had just realized what had happened, and reluctantly he pulled out a gun, but Allen tackled him and run to the tunnel. He was still holding Judy who tried to slither away, but no avail.

Only after they had emerged back on the street, Allen stopped to breathe. He let go of Judy who fell on the ground, and she quickly got back on her feet and turned to look at Allen.

"You idiot, we should have helped!" she yelled but then realized the raccoon was crying hysterically. "A-Allen?"

"No, let's keep on going. They're going to get us, I know", he said sniffling and then put on a brave face. "Chris is okay, don't worry about him."

"But…"

"Come. We need to get out of here."

Judy followed close behind the raccoon as they ran through dark alleys. She didn't know whether or not Markov had told the truth, and been if he had, which one was the bad guy here?

As they were running, she called for back-up and hoped they'd arrive soon, or else she and the raccoons would become wolverine food, and one of them could be that already.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is actually my favorite, but it's totally not perfect. I'm also thinking of uploading another chapter soon, but it's very short, around 300 words and you can skip it if you want as it only offers some background for certain characters.**

 **I'm listening to Babymetal's new album while writing this. It's badass! My favorite song is Sis. Anger.**

 **To Guest (the one who asked about the team, of course): Our national ice hockey team is Leijonat, Finland!**

 **Disclaimer: It'd be weird if I now suddenly owned Zootopia, so I don't.**

 **-Chapter 8-**

Nick's father loved him more than anything in the world, and Nick really looked up to him. That much was clear to everyone. But he wasn't perfect, no, not at all. He had a very bad drinking problem, and he used almost all of their money to buy booze.  
On one rainy night he came home late when his wife was ironing clothes and Nick was drawing with crayons. The second he opened the door, she could smell alcohol. She could also sense that something was off, something had clearly happened.  
Piberius Wilde wobbled through the room and collapsed on the armchair sighing. Normally he would have patted Nick's head but now he didn't even look at Nick.

"Is everything okay?" Nick's mother asked. Nick was young, but he could distinguish a hint of anger on her voice.  
Piberius grunted at his wife. Nick didn't know what he said but it made his mother roll her eyes. She walked to the kitchen to fetch Piberius a cold glass of water.  
Nick looked at his father who looked terrible. He set his crayons aside and walked to his dad who was clearly suffering from headache.

"Dad", he said quietly and sat on the armrest.

"Hey, lil' buddy", his father answered and tried to smile.

"Does your head hurt?"

"Only a little. Don't worry about it", he answered and little Nick nodded and walked away from the headrest. His mother came from the kitchen with the glass of water and she gave it to Piberius but looked disappointed.

"Piberius, we can't continue like this. You need to admit you have a problem", she said.

"Shh, he hears you."

"I don't care! Even he is old enough to understand!"

"Sally, I don't really want to do this now."

"Then when do you want to do it? You're always at work and then you finally come drunk home! It isn't good for Nicky to live in this kind of environment!"

"Sally, listen to me…"

"No! I love you but if you can't change, then I must take Nick and go live with my mother", she threatened. Piberius scoffed.

"Hahah, she hates you. No way she'd take you!"

Nick looked at his parents horrified and he became even more distressed as he saw his mother slap his father on his cheek. His father looked aghast when he realized what happened. She was against violence and had never slapped him before.

"Sally…"

"Don't you ever say that again!" she yelled.

First Piberius just stared at her but then he grinned evilly.

"Why? It is the truth!"

She tried to slap him again but he grabbed her wrist before she could.

"You little bitch", she cursed under his hissed, exhausted breaths.

"Mom", Nick said and his voice was wavering from fear.

"Not now, Nicky. Go to your room."

"But…"

"You heard her! Go to your room!" Piberius yelled angrily.

Tears started swelling up in Nick's eyes but he didn't move.

"I don't want you to fight", he said quietly.

"No, honey, this is just a small family dispute", she said with a calming tone but Nick's father chuckled at it.

"Huh, really?"

"My mother was right. I never should have married you", Nick's mother said.

"Why? You wanna get a divorce? Fine, let's get a fucking divorce if that makes you happy! What do you think, Nick? Should mommy and daddy get a divorce, huh?" he almost spat on Nick's face.

"Piberius!" she yelled. "Don't talk like that to him!"

"Well, Nick, you get to decide with who you want to live. But remember, mommy doesn't let you eat ice cream in the mornings, does she?"

"Piberius, stop it."

"Yes, she is a mean, manipulative bitch. You wouldn't want to live with a bitch, would you?"

Nick didn't know what to say and he took a few, careful steps back.

"Piberius, you're scaring him. Stop it now. Go to sleep, you're gonna have a massive headache tomorrow", she commanded.

"Don't you tell me what to do!"

At this point Nick couldn't take it anymore and he started bawling.

"Hm? You too, huh? You two seem to think crying will help you get rid of all problems, huh? I'll tell you what. It never worked for me either. It will not work for you. Man up, Nicholas, you don't want to become weak like your mother", Piberius said to Nick and grabbed his arm so hard that Nick yelped in pain.

"Dad, it hurts", he cried.

"Let go now!" his mother yelled and tried to pull Piberius away from Nick, but the man was much stronger and didn't even budge.

"No, I guess it's your time to learn pain, boy. So you will not grow weak like we did", he muttered almost as to himself.

"Piberius, what are you…" she started saying but realized a bit too late. She had left the curling iron on after she had gone to fetch the water glass, and Piberius was reaching for it. Before she even could move, he had put the hot iron against Nick's back and the scream that came from the young fox's mouth was the most heart-wrenching sound she had ever heard. She screamed in horror and pushed Piberius away with all the power she had, and he fell down. His vision was blurry but only after seeing Nick on the ground in a fetal position shaking in pain and hearing his gasping breaths he realized what he had done.

"Nick", he said quietly and got closer but Nick's mother shot him a look he would never forget. She was angry, so angry that he didn't dare to get near.

"I didn't mean to do it…" he tried but she ignored him, took a blanket from the sofa and put it around Nick.

"Don't worry, Nick, you're going to be okay. Don't worry", she said even though she wasn't so sure. As Piberius sat on the ground she quickly took frozen peas from the freezer in kitchen and ran outside holding Nick, fearing that he would die. Luckily a cab was just passing nearby, so she hailed it and climbed in, and the driver clearly knew something was going on as he saw the horrified look on her face.

"To the hospital, please. Make it quick", she said in midst her tears. For the first time in her life she hoped that Nick was crying from pain and not from shock, because if he felt pain it would not be a third degree burn. Yet she was pretty sure she knew the answer to that.

Nick was young when it happened and most of it was in blur for him, but he remembered asking if they were really going to divorce when they were in the cab. He was not entirely sure what that meant, but there was a young lion living next doors whose parents were divorced and she was very miserable and never saw her father. When he asked it, she had looked at him and smiled.

"Of course not", she had said because love is an complicated thing, and she loved that old bastard even though he had just hurt to most precious thing to her, and she loved Nick even more and knew he would want them to stay together. So at that moment she decided she would stay, and she would get help for her husband and they would become a normal family that sometimes fought over little things but laughed and played together more than they fought.

Piberus Wilde stopped drinking after that almost completely, and only occasionally took a glass of wine. It wasn't easy for him. Hell, it wasn't easy for everyone, but somehow he did it. Just as things were going well, he left without saying a word and just like the lion cub next door, Nick too became miserable.

Nick stepped out of the patrol car and sighed. He didn't know why he had thought about his father just now, and he'd really rather not.

Since Judy had mysteriously left, he was left alone with the car and sent to investigate some suspicious youngsters, who were said to have behaved erratically in the park and as he had arrived at the scene he had found out that they were merely selling trading cards. After buying a rare Pogimon-card from a platypus he returned to the car. He touched his back as it felt itchy and sore. The scar was a huge v-shaped burn and the only ones who had actually seen it were his parents and Finnick. He hadn't told the small fennec intentionally, no way, but he had once gotten drunk, vomited all over his shirt and Finnick had seen the scar after Nick took the shirt off (or more like tried, he got tangled badly). They had not talked about it, not even mentioned it after that and Nick was grateful.

As he drove around in his car, he suddenly noticed that he was really close to Stephanie's strip club. Out of curiosity he walked there and saw that there was a note on the door that said:

 _ **CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE**_

 _ **WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE**_

Apparently the word about the vixen's death had already spread as there were some flowers and candles in front of the door. He searched his pockets for papers and found an old receipt for a candy bar that he quickly folded into a small flower and put on the ground. He felt sick as he thought about everything that had happened, and walked away with his paws in his pockets.

He got sudden goosebumps without any idea why, and even though he tried to brush it off he couldn't get rid of the sense of dread looming over him.

* * *

Judy was breathing heavily as she was hiding behind a trashcan with the raccoon. She had called for backup that were just arriving, but meanwhile she was trying to catch her breath. They had been running a lot and it hurt her legs, but not once did she complain. Allen was very quiet though, but it was understandable and Judy really hoped the other raccoon was alright.

"So what's the deal with Markov?" she asked.

"Huh? His father is the Tsar and he inherited everything he now owns from him. He's just like his father in every aspect.

"The Tsar? You're not talking about the only criminal in fifty years to receive a capital punishment?"

"The same guy. Only Markov is more intelligent than the Tsar ever was. Instead of wanting to spread fear he works in shadows, so that only few can actually meet with him."

"And you two are working for him."

"Yes."

"How did that happen?"

"We needed money."

It was quiet for a while, and then Judy took a deep breath.

"You know you're probably going to get in trouble after all this, even though if I defended you?"

"Yeah, I'm aware", the raccoon answered. "But we would never have worked for him if we weren't ready to face the consequences. Well, I wouldn't. I'm not sure about Chris, he is a bit slow."

Allen took out of his gun and showed it.

"Look. Always when we are going to do something stupid, he gives me a gun, but he never gives any bullets so that if we get caught, I cannot be judged for shooting anyone. It's potentially dangerous, but that's how it has always been."

"I have meant to ask you this: which one of you is older?"

"We were born the same day, but our parents never told us who was older."

Judy nodded quietly and stared at the ground. Then they heard rustling from behind and she grabbed her gun in a flash ready to face whoever was coming towards them.


	9. Chapter 9

**-Chapter 9 (or more like 8½)-**

Ms. Sally Bark and Piberius Wilde were very different personalities, and if someone had told the high-school aged Ms. Bark that she'd once marry someone ten years older than her, she would have laughed. But when she met Wilde, she couldn't help falling in love with the smug grin of his and the stupid jokes and puns and the way he looked at her. First they met in a therapy session: Wilde, who was suffering from a very bad PTSD after being deployed two years in another country and seeing his friends getting blown to pieces and bloodily killed and hearing men's last words, and she was there because of her depression that seemed incurable. Both of them were very shy at first, but one day her pen fell and he gave it back to her, and the next day she was brave enough to strike up a conversation. A week after they went to a fancy restaurant and ate, but neither of them had enough money and they ended up spending the night in a cell but somehow it made them laugh. They began dating after that, and both of them showed signs of improving. Sometimes she'd sleep over in his place and he'd wake up screaming, having a panic attack and she'd comfort him, and in return when she just lied in bed for days without moving or eating at all, he'd climb in with her and hug her and tell everything would be okay.

After a few years she became pregnant without neither of them knowing what to do and she was disowned by her mother and her two sisters as they were all very religious, so he started saving money and sold his car and his old apartment and then bought a smaller one and soon they were blessed with a small baby boy and that was when they realized they wanted to marry. So they did. She still sometimes had bad days and he sometimes got panic attacks, but mostly they could live in peace and they both had two things to live for; their son and each other. He was named after her father, who had died years ago, and the boy was healthy and had a lot of energy, so much that in the end of the day Mr. and Mrs. Wilde would just collapse on the bed exhausted and he'd climb in between them and they'd all fall asleep smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

**Another chapter. Hooray. This was actually really hard to write and the beginning's a bit… Yeah. But what matters is actually the ending. And just like always, there might be mistakes. Most likely there are. Always when I'm closing quotation marks, I accidentally write a semicolon instead of a comma. Really annoying, ugh.**

 **Disclaimer: Own Zootopia I do not.**

 **-Chapter 10-**

Judy stared at a young giraffe that stared horrified at her gun's barrel. The giraffe was probably 8 or 9 and he had a lollipop that fell from his mouth to the cold ground. He quickly raised his front hooves up, but when Judy realized he was just a kid, she but the gun down.

"Hey, little one. What's your name?"

"J-Justin."

"What are you doing here, Justin?"

"I-I'm going to visit my f-friend."

"I see. You should be more careful when walking here, though. Well, go on. Remember to look left and then right and then left again when crossing a road", Judy said gently.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" the giraffe yelled, bowed and ran away.

Judy looked calm but her heart was racing faster than ever.

They waited there a few more minutes when suddenly Allen's phone rang and Judy could see Chris' picture flashing on the screen. He was grinning and wearing sunglasses that said #WAG.

Allen picked up.

"Chris! Where are you, are..."

He shut up and listened. Judy's hearing was excellent but she couldn't make out the words Chris was saying.

"Okay, but is... Wait! What? I don't understand. Where are you?"

"What is it?" Judy asked but Allen ignored her.

"Okay. Uh-huh. I… What..? Y-Yeah, you too", Allen said as he closed the phone and stood up.

"What are you doing? How's Chris?"

"He told me to hide the money back because he left it on the table. You know, because if someone sees it… We're all screwed", he told her. "Oh, and it seems Markov was hit. He didn't tell how badly, though."

"Wait! What about Chris, was he hit?"

"Yeah."

After the other offices finally arrived, neither Markov nor Chris was anywhere to be found but there was a lot of blood in the tunnel and Haybay. Judy tried looking if Nick had also arrived, but she could not see him anywhere. He probably was out of frequency.

In the end only one to be detained was the lynx, but first he had to be tended as he had gotten shot in his left paw.

* * *

When Judy was later called into the Chief's office, she really thought nothing about it. She had witnessed the whole (well, almost) ordeal with Markov so of course he'd want to speak with her.

Judy knocked and as he told her to come in, she did. She jumped on the chair and realized Bogo looked a bit… Stressed. He was rubbing his temple and on his table there were a lot of papers and important documents.

"So…" Judy said. The fan on the corner was turned on, spinning at full speed.

"Officer Hopps", chief Bogo started and sighed. "Good job on the field today."

"Thank you, sir, although we didn't find anything new about the overdose case", she said.

"No, that's okay", he claimed and sighed once more. "It has been a crazy week so far, hasn't it?"

"I guess you can say that."

"However."

His tone seemed disappointed, maybe even angry. It honestly scared the bunny a bit. Maybe he had heard about the raccoons and their deal.

"You know you are one of my best officers, right? I really appreciate your work."

"I'm very thankful for your kind words, sir."

"However!"

"Uh…"

"I did hear some things. Now, I won't say who told me and I'd like you not to even try to find out as I don't appreciate anyone calling my men snitches. Someone told me that they had seen you walking into a bar with Officer Wilde while on duty. Is this true, officer Hopps?"

It took her a while to process what he had just said, and she was shaking although it wasn't visible. If she lied, who knew what would be the consequences? She swallowed and then bowed her head in shame.

"Yes, sir."

"I see. I really hoped it wasn't. Was there any particular reason you were there?"

"No, sir."

"Also the same person told that they had seen you exiting the bar earlier but Officer Wilde stayed. Could you please enlighten me?"

She really didn't want to say anything, but the chief's gaze on her bowed head was intimidating enough to make her tell him everything, even the secret Hopps family recipe.

"I left because I felt uncomfortable with… Uh… With…"

"With what?"

"With his drinking. I-I drunk as well! But he just a bit… more", she said. She felt like the scum of earth for saying this about her best friend.

"I see. And then you returned to Ms. Horde's house to find her dead, right?"

"Yes, that's right", she told.

"Officer Wilde didn't leave because he didn't feel good, even though you said so, huh? He didn't come back because he was intoxicated."

"Yes, I guess that's so. Although he didn't probably feel too good when he was drunk", she stated.

He rubbed his eyes in defeat and sighed again.

"Well, as I already told you, you're one of my best officers. But I cannot let this one slide."

"I-I understand and I take full responsibility of my actions! Nick… I mean Wilde, he has it rough at the moment so…"

"Listen. Here's what I'm going to do, even though it pains me. You're suspended."

"What?"

"For three days. And then you'll promise this doesn't happen again, or else I'm going to have to fire you."

"I-I understand, sir."

She knew why he did it, of course, but she felt really ashamed. Three days wasn't even that much, but if everyone else heard, she'd die from shame. She didn't realize she was choking back tears as she looked at the buffalo in front of her.

"Badge and gun. I'll take good care of them", he said and Judy gave them to him.

"You're free to go."

She jumped on the floor and started walking towards the door when she suddenly stopped and turned.

"What about Officer Wilde, then?"

It was quiet for a minute, but then Bogo finally replied:

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to fire him. Have a nice day."

* * *

As night fell, Judy had tried to contact Nick countless of times, but he didn't pick up his phone or answer the messages she had sent. She knew Bogo had already talked to him, and even though the fox had the rare gift of persuading, this wasn't anything he could talk himself out of. For god's sake, he had gotten drunk on duty! Although she could have stopped him and she didn't. Judy couldn't help but blame herself. After all, everybody knew she was the more responsible one.

She remembered the one message she had gotten from his a few days ago. He had wanted to make pancakes with her. Judy decided to quickly to go to the store and buy the ingredients, and then she'd surprise him appearing in front of his door ready to cook!

Of course, the problem was she didn't know where he lived. They had known each other for a year but they had never once talked about his home. She knew that Finnick would know, but didn't want to bother the fennec again.

And sure Finnick knew. However, he also knew that appearing in front of Nick porch wouldn't really do anything as the fox was in the bar with him. He didn't know how they had gotten into a situation like this, but the panther had called him again and as Finnick had gone to retrieve Nick, he too ended up drinking. Not too much, but enough.

He had found out that just a few hours ago Nick had been fired from his job that he surprisingly seemed to enjoy. Finnick didn't really understand why the red fox liked it, but he was okay with it anyway.

Finnick hated the drunken Nick, mainly because he was nothing like the sober Nick. The drunken Nick was melancholic, scary and sad.

Nick had told Jose a bad horse joke so many times the horse had left the bar looking like he wanted to kill something.

"It's your phone, it's ringing again!" Finnick told Nick as he heard familiar beeping coming from Nick's pocket.

"It's just Carrots", Nick told him. "She must be mad. I got her suspended too."

"She has called you quite a lot."

"Who cares? ANOTHER!" he yelled. As he was served another pint, he drank it and the foam stained his muzzle. "It doesn't matter."

"I thought you said you weren't going to –hic- drink ever again", Finnick said.

"Yeah, well when have I succeeded in keeping my promises?" Nick asked. "Uh, nature calls."

He fell of the stool on his face and getting up wasn't all that easy. He cursed and said pretty much every bad word he had ever heard, but then with the help of a dingo whose name he never remembered he finally got up and walked to the bathroom.

Finnick leaned on his elbow and he started feeling very sleepy. As his eyes started drooping, he heard then someone say:

"Now where the hell did I put that knife?"

He woke up and saw a zebra on the stool next to Nick's searching for the knife that had come with his burger. First Finnick just ignored it, but then suddenly his eyed widened. He looked at the empty stool next to him and then quickly jumped on the floor, slipping but getting up easier than Nick had. He ran to the toilets and the panther seemed to be thinking the same as the fennec did as he followed.

The door was locked and Finnick knocked on it.

"Nick, are ya there?"

There was no answer and he tried to force the door open.

"Hey, Nick, let's go home! Open the door!"

The panther gestured Finnick to move and then he kicked the door open, ripping it form its hinges and making it slam hard on the dirty floor.

Nick was washing his paws (kind of, the faucet wasn't turned off).

"What are you doing!" he screamed as he stared at the animals in front of him. "Can't a guy have a little privacy?!"

"Shut it", Finnick commanded. "What do you need that knife for?" He pointed at Nick's back pocket where the knife was.

"What? Uh…"

The panther shook his head, walked in and grabbed the knife. Nick was reaching for it as the panther took it, but after realizing they saw he acted as if he was just scratching his head.

"Idiot", Finnick muttered and rolled his eyes. "Matt, call us a cab. We're leaving."

The panther nodded and left, and he could hear Finnick yelling at Nick.

Once they were in the cab, the driver scorned at the smell of alcohol.

"So. Nick, ya remember Travis?" Finnick suddenly asked. Nick nodded.

"Yeah, my younger older brother."

Nick did remember indeed.

Growing up poor, Nick's parents couldn't afford to put him into a very rich school, so he went to the St. Rattle's Elementary. His class wasn't too big, 21 children and most of them were predators. There were two foxes: Nick and Finnick, who actually is a fennec fox. The latter was repeating the grade because he failed it the last time, and neither of them had any friends so they were alone a lot, although Nick did talk with his classmates sometimes and they were nice to him. It was different for Finnick who was so shy that he couldn't even ask to go to the bathroom which is why he once had a little accident in classroom, and after that he was known as Peennick.

Nick never really acknowledged the small fox. Sure, usually foxes were friends with only foxes, but Finnick wasn't a red fox like Nick and he was small and he had huge ears and all that.

But one day he saw two older pupils beating up the small fox in the parking lot when he was leaving home (his bike had been stolen two days earlier), and he tried to hide from them but as he heard them calling Finnick a dirty fox he got mad and walked to them and threw mud on them. He broke his paw that day but it was worth it, as he and Finnick became friends after spending two hours together waiting for the nurse.

First they were more like obligatory friends, since they were the only foxes in the class. But the more time they spent together reading comics or playing, they became more and more better friends. Unlike Nick, Finnick had siblings, two older brothers Travis and Carter, and they were very nice to Nick, and he felt jealous as Finnick had an awesome family, as for Nick, his family was already broken. Finnick's brothers taught them a lot of cool things such as skating (skating was forbidden after Finnick broke his arm), climbing (also forbidden after Nick got a concussion) and making paper planes (still allowed, although one flew into Carter's eye).

A few years went by and then Nick's mother was diagnosed, so he had to quiet school and start working to get money for food as his mother couldn't, but then she died and Finnick's mother baked him a pie and asked if he had a place to go, but Nick lied and told her that he'll move in with his aunt. He had actually never met his maternal aunt as his mother was disowned before he was born.

A few years went by without them ever meeting, but one day when Nick was selling Pawsicles (that was the start of his career) the recently kicked out of school Finnick was walking nearby, and after hearing how much money Nick made the small fox was astonished. He asked to join and Nick decided to let him, because why not?

That was when Nick heard about Travis. He had gotten drunk with his friends and shot himself in the head with a shotgun. Everybody knew that he had been a bit depressed but no one knew it was really that bad. Carter was the one to find him right after they heard the gunshot and of course the curious Finnick had also come to check, but Carter didn't allow him to see it. In retrospect, the fennec was thankful.

Remembering Travis, Nick quieted and looked out of the window. Finnick eyed him angrily but said nothing as they drove on.


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's another chapter! Now that we're getting closer to the climax, I'm going to update a bit less frequently. I can't say how many chapters there will be.**

 **I think I may have broken my wrist. Kind of stupid, really, but I fell down on my chair (so I guess I deserved it) and fell on it. It has been hurting quite a lot and now it has swollen, oops.**

 **Did you know that BBC and Netflix are working on a new Watership Down series and John Boyega will be on it? Apparently he will voice Bigwig. If you have never read Watership Down before, do it now! It's awesome, almost like LOTR but with bunnies! yay.**

 **Disclaimer: I have never owner, do not own and will never own Zootopia. So that's that.**

 **-Chapter 11-**

When Judy woke up in the morning, it took her a while to remember she wasn't supposed to go to the station. Because she didn't really feel the need to try to sleep a little more, she instead quickly showered, fixed some coffee and ate breakfast. The TV was on, showing cartoons (she would never admit that she actually liked watching them) and she quickly riffled through the morning paper.

Then she decided to text Nick to ask him how he was when she noticed she had gotten a text from an unknown number last night, when she had already been asleep. It said:

 _38°5′41.61″N 122°8′38.24″W_

As Judy tried to track the number, she couldn't and she assumed it was from a pre-paid phone. Her blood ran cold as she realized who could've sent the text, and she wasn't sure whether she wanted that or not.

A cold wind was breezing outside, so she took her jacket and started heading towards a certain car repair shop. It was still unclear what had happened to Chris, but she hoped to find Allen and ask him how he felt about the message, and maybe also console him about this brother. She took the train and since it was morning and people were going to work, it was full and she ended up standing. She looked at the message once more and decided to reply or night as well try. She wrote:

 _who are you ?_

The way to the car repair center wasn't too long, and soon she hopped out of the train and walked towards the place. Only when she arrived, she noticed that the shop itself was closed and when she knocked on the door thrice, no one came. She looked through a window and to her surprise se noticed that the all of the furniture had been stacked in the middle of the room, or more like thrown. She looked at the sight in shock and just as she was turning, she heard the backdoor being opened. She saw Allen walking in and he was holding a red canister in his paws and it actually took Judy a moment to realize that he was going to burn to whole place down. Not knowing what she should do she just simply watched as he poured gasoline on the furniture and all over the walls and floor. He took a lighter from his pocket but before he could light it, Judy knocked on the door hoping he would answer. He looked at the door and saw two, gray ears sticking up behind the window. Sighing, he opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly.

"No, what are you doing!" Judy yelled. "Or actually, don't even answer. I'm pretty sure I know."

The raccoon scanned the area and then gestured her to come in.

"Yeah, it's probably pretty obvious. I'm leaving."

"Just like that? Why?"

"I mean, Chris and I intended to move anyway if we got money. Besides, I'm pretty sure the police are already suspecting us, huh?"

"Er, not that I would know", Judy said. "I was suspended."

"Oh."

"Well, only for a short time. But what about Chris, are you really going to leave him?"

"Leave him? He's dead", Allen said and even though his expression remained the same, Judy could hear the pain in his voice.

"How can you know? His bo… He wasn't even found!"

"Yeah, but did you see the blood?"

"I-I did but… It could have been Markov's."

"All of it? No one can lose that much blood and yet walk away to die", Allen said.

"I guess you're right…"

"So yes, I'm leaving. We actually already got fake ID's for this, but… I don't think I'm going to need this", he said as he took the other ID that had Chris's picture.

"You know, about the fox I was looking for…"

"What about him?"

"You see, I got a message last night. Coordinates. I don't know where but I have a crazy feeling that it has something to do with him", she explained.

"Can I see the message?" Allen asked and Judy nodded. She gave her phone to him.

"I know this place", Allen said.

"You do?"

"Yep, we… I've been there like a thousand times."

"What's in there?"

"Just a simple road and a hut."

"A hut?"

"Yeah. A hut."

"Like… Like a shack kind of hut or a cute cabin kind of hut?"

"Yes", the raccoon replied. "So to be honest, I'd assume this message is from him, alright. Be careful when you go there."

Judy swallowed and looked at the message. Suddenly she hoped she had never tried to find Nick's father.

"Or are you even going to go?"

"Do you think he'll be mad if I don't?"

"I don't know."

It was quiet for a while and then Allen scratched his neck.

"But, you know, maybe I can, er, go with you. Just so that you'll find the place, er, because, um, it's… Yeah, and after that I'll vanish and you'll have never seen me. What do you think?"

Judy though for a while.

"Okay. It's a deal."

Since Judy had given her gun away, Allen lent her one. He too took a gun with him but this time it had bullets.

They were ready, and when Judy exited the backdoor she heard Allen saying something, as if a prayer. He walked behind and threw the lighter to the furniture stack, and the room caught fire immediately. They left, leaving the small shop to burn.

* * *

There was, indeed, a small hut and Judy found it hard to believe it had been used by a criminal syndicate. Honestly, it looked more like and abandoned barn than a hut.

They stood in front of the door and then Judy carefully knocked. No one answered, but she opened the door anyway.

The hut was nothing like outside what it was inside. It actually looked like a cute cabin inside, with nice tapestry and a fur carpet, and there was a comfy-looking bed and an armchair.

"I'd better wait here", Allen whispered and Judy nodded in agreement. She loaded her gun and stepped in.

Nick was practically just a younger copy of Mr. Piberius Wilde, she noticed the moment she saw the fox. Sure, there were some other differences, of course. Piberius's fur was not as shiny and it was a bit greyish, but other than that they looked like twins more than a father and a son. The smug grin, the green eyes and the relaxed posture.

"Mr. Wilde?" she asked even though she was already sure.

"Yes, though I have not used that name for years. And I assume you're Miss Judy Hopps", he said. His voice was deep and hoarse, perhaps an effect from smoking.

"Yes. I'm here for… Um", she mumbled.

"Yes, I know. My son. How is he doing these days?"

"He's a policeman", she replied, completely forgetting that the fox was fired yesterday.

"Oh, yes, I heard about that. Always knew the boy was going to become something great one day", he said with pride filling his voice. "Normally we Wildes weren't meant to do great things, but I guess you could say he broke out of that cycle."

"Just wondering… You've had many chances to meet him? Why didn't you?"

"Well, first of all… It's not like people like me are admired in the society, is it? I was hiding, I still am. Let's face it, it would've been dangerous. But I told her my new address years ago in case if he wanted to come with me. He didn't."

"He said he did, after his mother died, but you weren't there!"

"Yes, I had to move away. I was being chased by some rather nasty people."

"So you left him alone."

"Well…"

"You did!"

"Yes, it's true. But not a day goes by without me ever regretting it."

The fox talked calmly and he was very convincing. Could it be that this man had actually killed Markov's minions? It seemed unreal. Perhaps she had been lied to, or Piberius had been framed.

"I assumed you'd arrive here without him, but by all mean, tell your friend to come in. I'll fix some coffee."

Judy did as was told and soon all the three of them were sitting around the cute, small round table.

"Now look at us. Just like the knights", he said after and awkward silence. Judy noticed that his paws were shaking but only slightly. She wondered why.

"So McCoon, how's your brother?" he asked, attempting to small talk. Allen didn't answer, just stared at the ground as he drank.

"Ah, not one for talking, are we?"

To Judy the fox seemed a bit oblivious about everything; living life like there was nothing to worry about. How the hell did this man get into criminal business? Despite the grin on his face, he seemed a bit distressed and nervous.

"So. A bunny, huh? Never thought a bunny and a fox could…"

"Um, how did you meet Markov?" Judy interrupted him quickly.

The fox took a sip of coffee.

"I guess the same way everyone else did", he vaguely answered. His paws were shaking more and more each minute. Suddenly he got up. "Excuse me a minute."

He walked out of the door, to another room and Judy was left alone with Allen.

"What do you think about him?" she whispered to the raccoon.

"He's… Weird. Like he's five cans short on a six pack, you know?"

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Soon the fox came back and sat on the chair with a satisfied grunt.

"But you know, dear bunny, as you have been working so hard, I guess I could meet with him. Just to see that he's eating properly and not working himself to the bone. Fatherly stuff, I guess", he said.

"That… That would be great!" she said. "Let's do it now, like right now! I'll just call him and… Oh…" she said remembering that Nick didn't probably want to see anyone at the moment.

"Not now", Piberius said fortunately. "But maybe tomorrow? I can get me another suit and get rid of that ugly mug of mine."

Judy thought he was talking about his face but the mug he used for drinking was hideous, as well.

"That's great, now if you'll just give me your number and we're…"

"No, I'll contact you. but you need to go now", the fox said and opened the front door. "It was such a pleasure to meet you. Both of you."

"But…"

"Go now", the fox said smiling but there was something scary about the way he said it.

"Alright. I'll see you then"; Judy said. Before leaving, she turned. "By the way, do you happen to have seen Markov lately?"

He shook his head.

"I see. Where did you get my number?"

The fox didn't reply as he pushed to bunny out.

"Tomorrow", he said and closed the door.

"Wow. So that's your friend's father, huh?" Allen asked rhetorically. "Nice fellow."

"Y-Yeah", Judy said. She took her phone. "I need to tell Nick."

As she was writing the message, she figure she should actually tell it face to face, so she simply told him to meet her in the park in two hours. Ad they started walking towards Allen's car, she asked the raccoon:

"So what will happen to you now?"

"I'm still leaving", he told. "I'll take you to the park, and then we'll never see again."

"I see. By the way?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about Chris. I really am."

The raccoon didn't answer as he started the car and drove away.


	12. Chapter 12

**I finally was able to post this chapter. The internet connection is shitty (has always been) and also I have been busy because of hockey world championship and mother's day (we spent the whole day at my grandma's) but here it is anyway. By the way, what do you think happened to all the humans in Zootopia? When I first heard about the movie, first thing I thought was that as the animals became more intelligent they declared war against humans (their leader was Bambi, of course, whose mother was killed by a human) and the animals won and enslaved people and shit happened. I mean, they even use things invented by humans. Is that not what happened?**

 **Okay, I'll quit my blabbering. sry**

 **Oh, as always this is probably full of typos. Hopefully not, but…**

 **Disclaimer: Nah.**

 **-Chapter 12-**

"You know, I think I may have a drinking problem", Nick said as he stared his reflection in the ceiling and tried to fix his ear that had gotten turned inside out.

"Yeah, no kidding", muttered Finnick who was fixing his tie. He was wearing a black suit, something Nick didn't remember him wearing for years.

"Honestly, if you ever see me going to that bar once more, shoot me in the face", Nick joked but he didn't smile. Sighing, he sat down and glanced at the fennec.

"You know, I could really use a job right now. Like, if you're gone, I can't really work alone", he said and Finnick turned to look at him.

"Then get one."

"It's not that easy when you're a former con artist who dropped out of school."

"Yeah? Well look at me. I'm doing just fine. Of course, this is all thanks to Ekaterina but anyway. You don't get a job just by hiding in _MY_ house", Finnick said.

"I know, I know, sorry. I'm going home tonight and staying home", Nick promised. It was Finnick's time to sigh.

"On a second thought, maybe you shouldn't..."

"Nah, it's okay. I'm feeling sore sleeping on this thing", Nick claimed.

Finnick cocked an eyebrow but said nothing as he continued struggling with his tie.

"So this interview of yours..."

"Mr. Fantastika's Super Delicious Ice Cream. He biggest ice cream monopoly in Fursia, and they have over 12,000 shops in Zootopia", Finnick said. "Good stuff. I recommend."

"That's a lot of shops."

"Yeah."

"Mr. Fantastika's Ekaterina's uncle, right?"

"Yeah."

"She's a fox, he's a polar bear... I wonder how Ekaterina's parents did it."

"Please shut up, Nick."

"Do you ever think of that?"

"Nick."

"Sorry. I was just thinking... I mean polar bears are huge and compared to them..."

"Nick, I swear to god."

"Okay, sorry."

He was silent for a while and said:

"Maternal or paternal uncle, though? I can only imagine the pain if her father is a bear."

Finnick threw a glass that barely missed Nick's head, and the fox just stared wide-eyed.

"Thank you", Finnick said as Nick had finally stopped.

The door was suddenly opened and Ekaterina walked in.

"Привет, любовь моя! Привет, Nick. Что нового?"

"Ah, you came. Well then Nick. We're going. Please clean up this mess", Finnick said but his path was blocked by Ekaterina who went down on her knees.

"What the fuck! Ekaterina, not here! Nick's watching!" Finnick hissed at her, but then Ekaterina fixed his tie properly.

"Oh", was all the fennec could say.

The two of them walked to the door.

"Bye, Nick", Finnick quickly said.

"До скорого!" Ekaterina yelled as they left.

* * *

Judy was waiting in the park. Allen, despite saying he'd leave immediately, was waiting with her in case if the fox didn't arrive, but soon they saw him walking down the lane. Just as Judy waved her paw at him, she realized that instead of coming to the park, he turned and walked towards the... Church? Indeed, he got inside the small church near the park and Judy decided to follow him.

She walked in and saw Nick kneeling in front of the altar, with his head bowed.

"I didn't know you were religious", Judy said and Nick opened one eye.

"I'm not", he then said and turned to look at the bunny. "My mother was so we went here a lot."

"Oh", Judy said.

"Yeah... I don't believe but sometimes I come here. It brings me, uh, closure."

"I see", Judy said and sat next to Nick. "Did you get my message?"

"Sorry, I kind of lost my phone last night. What was it?"

"I asked to meet you in the park."

"Huh. This is no park, but we met, right?"

"Yeah", Judy said. They sat there for a minute and Judy was nervously twiddling her fingers. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about.. About, uh, you being f... Er, you..."

Nick stared at her.

"It's okay", he then said after a while. "I mean, not that I like it but it was my own fault."

"Yeah, but I could've..."

"Seriously. I deserved it."

"What are you going to do now?" Judy asked.

"I don't know. Did you know that Finnick has a job interview today?"

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Good for him, then."

"Well, I should probably go now", Nick said and got up. "See ya la..."

"Wait! Nick!" Judy interrupted him.

"Yeah?"

Judy took a deep breath.

"I..."

"Yeah?"

"Okay... How should I say this... Um."

"Yeah?"

"Okay, here goes. You remember your father?"

Nick raised one eyebrow, giving Judy a very unimpressed look.

"I guess, yeah", he said.

"Well, you said that he was missing and all but I did a little research and guess what! I found him! He has assumed a fake identity but I set you a meeting with him and he said he's very eager to see you!" Judy said fast.

The fox didn't seem to understand.

"What?"

"You father! I found him!" Judy exclaimed happily.

"What..?"

"Dumb fox, you father wants to meet you!"

"My father?"

"Yeah, the one I found."

It was quiet and Judy could see how Nick was only processing what he had just heard.

"Isn't it great?" Judy asked.

"No", Nick said suddenly. His voice was cold and harsh as he continued: "You promised you'd forget him!"

"Well, I did but..."

"What makes you say I wanted to meet him? Do you have any idea what kind of person he even is! The man didn't even come to my mother's funeral! Her funeral, god dammit. He left us, left her, just like that, without a fucking word! What the hell were you thinking?"

Judy's ears drooped.

"I-I thought..."

"You thought? What? That even thought I told you to forget him, I really wanted you to go behind my back and find him? Come on, Judy, if I had wanted to meet him, I would have told you!"

Judy felt horrible after hearing Nick use her real name instead of saying Carrots, and tears were beginning to dwell in her eyes.

Nick took a deep breath and was counting to ten inside his head and appeared to calm a little.

"Okay, okay. Why did you do it?" he asked.

"I wanted to make you happy!"

"Well it didn't work too well, did it? Now I'm cranky."

"I swear, if I had known...!"

"But I did tell you. You did know, didn't you?"

"Nick, I'm sorry!" Judy wailed.

"I mean look at this!" Nick yelled, turned around and pulled his shirt up from the backside revealing the v-shaped scar. It was quite big and there was no fur around it. Judy's eyes widened as she looked at it, and then she reached her paw to touch it, Nick jerked away and hid it again.

"He did that?"

"Yeah, although he did apologize. He didn't mean it."

"But he did it anyway."

"He was drunk."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm such an idiot!" she cried loudly, with her mews echoing inside the church.

"C'mon, Carrots, stop that. You know I can't stand seeing you cry", Nick muttered after watching the rabbit try to wipe her tears away, and then he added sighing: "What's done is done, I guess."

Judy opened her mouth to say something but Nick was faster.

"So what was he like? Did he look unhealthy, homeless perhaps? Did he still have all his paws?" Nick said but Judy could feel that he was uncomfortable about it.

"Well… He actually looked like he was quite well off. I mean, I'm pretty sure he has a home and everything", Judy told.

"Yeah, good for him I guess. Well, I'm going to find out that soon enough, huh?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Didn't you say he wanted to meet me?"

"Yeah, but… I mean you…"

"I'll tell you one thing. If there's something he hates, it's being lied to. Honestly", Nick said.

"Okay… Uh, I guess I too should tell you something. You know, when I was trying to find him, I stumbled upon an organized crime syndicate. Uh, do you know the Tsar?"

"The Tsar? Everyone knows him."

"Yeah. Well, his son was running the syndicate and it seems your father was working for them but he betrayed them and killed some people. I wasn't sure whether Markov, he's the son, was telling the truth and when I met your father he seemed like a genuine nice guy but that was before you told me what he did to you and now I'm afraid and I don't think you should meet him after all", Judy spoke fast.

"Listen here, Carrots. I'm a cop", Nick said, completely ignoring his mistake, "so I guess I can manage. Besides, I'd say he is a good guy. I mean, sometimes he was a bad father but he really loved us."

"Yeah, he loved you so much he didn't come to the funeral", Judy claimed but then felt a bit bad saying that as Nick's father had told her it would've been too dangerous.

"Besides, I was a criminal once too", Nick said.

"Yeah, but you never killed anyone."

"Y-Yeah, sure, whatever makes you say so…"

"You did?!"

Nick chuckled.

"I'm joking, dumb bunny", he said.

"Hey, that was mean!" Judy yelled.

"So when are we going to meet him?" Nick asked.

"You still want to see him?"

"Of course, we have a lot to talk about", Nick said.

"He promised to contact me at some point", Judy told him. "Tomorrow, actually."

"Great. Call me when that happens", Nick said and walked towards the door.

"Hey, Nick!" Judy yelled after him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. Can I make this up with pancakes?"

"Pancakes sound great. Your place?"

"Yeah. Let's go", the bunny said smiling.


	13. Chapter 13

**Next chapter, praise the God of Procrastination! I won't promise anything but there should be action in the next chapter. Hopefully, you know. So. I don't really have anything else to say.**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Perkele saatana kyrpä karhu jääkiekko kossu salmiakki**_

 **That's "I don't own Zootopia" in Finnish.**

 **-Chapter 13-**

Nick's father had not lied when he had said he'd contact Judy, but as she woke up and went to retrieve her mail, she was anything but pleased as she saw a letter that was obviously sent by him.

"How did he find out where I live?" she asked audibly and shuddered at the though. She opened the letter and it said:

 _BURN THIS AFTER READING_

 _TONIGHT 23:00 AT 354 SAINT WILSON'S ROAD_

 _WAREHOUSE 7_

She took a deep breath and made sure that she remembered the address as she took a book of matches out of her drawer.

"I can't believe I'm doing this", she said and lit the letter on fire. It made her feel almost as if she was a criminal trying to get rid of evidence. And she was sure she would be treated as one if anyone were to find out.

Not that anyone would find out. She wouldn't let them.

Of course, somehow they had found out about the bar incident.

It was only 7:15 so Judy had time before the meeting, but she was already having second thoughts. However, now it was Nick who wanted to meet Piberius, not her.

After eating breakfast and showering she decided to head out. The wind was quite chilly so she wore a red jacket that she had bought from Whalemart with only four dollars, so it wasn't surprising it was already falling apart. But hey, at least she looked cute.

She remembered Nick telling her that he had lost his phone, and not knowing where he actually lived, she decided to meet Finnick. She hated bothering the fennec and she was quite sure he didn't really like her, but after all it was very important.

She made it just in time to see Finnick walking out of his van with a beautiful arctic fox. She suppressed the urge to yell his name and instead hopped in front of them.

"The bunny", Finnick muttered but Ekaterina's eyes brightened.

"кролик!" she yelled fascinated and touched Judy's ear. "милый!"

"Uhh…"

"У тебя классная попка!"

"What did she say?" Judy asked Finnick.

"No idea", he replied shrugging. "I don't speak Fursian."

The white vixen smiled brightly as she stared at Judy.

"Alright, enough with the weird talk. What do you want?" Finnick then asked.

"Um, kinda embarrassing but I am looking for Nick… Again. Where does he even live?" Judy asked.

"Can you two not talk to each other or why do you always ask me?" Finnick murmured under his breath. "I don't know if he wants me to tell you."

"Why wouldn't he? We're partners."

"Wasn't he fired?"

"Well… Y-Yeah, but we were partners even before he was fired."

"Ah. Of course. That's why he never told you where he lives."

As Finnick noticed how his statement affected Judy, he sighed.

"Fine, whatever. 75 Walrus Corner apt. 14B. The one with a red door. Now if you'll excuse me, _some people_ – ahem – have work to do. See you, bunny."

"до свидания, кролик!"

Judy didn't have the time to say bye to them as they were already gone, so instead she started heading towards the address. She was certain her head would explode if she'd have to remember any more addresses, but luckily she found the apartments quickly.

The area was not what she had expected. Most of the houses were shabby and ready to collapse, and there was a broken car in the middle of a road with two skunk children playing around it. The other had a bandage on her ankle and the other was wearing an ugly-ass scarf around his neck and kept coughing.

There was a gray wolf without hind legs sitting near the dumpster, but he wasn't moving at all and Judy was beginning to fear he wasn't even alive, but then suddenly he coughed violently.

Judy had heard stories about the Walrus Corner, but she had not expected it to be so bad. There was something very ominous and distressing about the whole place, and she was glad it wasn't dark because if it was, she'd probably die from fear.

"Okay, so 354. Or was it 75? 375? Maybe it was 54… Crap", she muttered and didn't even realize she had said it aloud until the skunk with the scarf walked to her.

"Are you lost?" he asked with hoarse voice.

"I… No. Well, not _really_ ", Jude replied.

"You don't live here, do you?" the kid asked.

"No, I'm here to visit a friend."

"Oh."

"Do you know him? He's a fox, and his name's Nick."

"No."

"Oh. I see."

"But you should ask Old Hoggy. He knows everyone."

" _What kind if name is that_?!" Judy though to herself."Alright. Where can I find him?"

She was honestly getting a bit frustrated. Why was it always that she had to go meet new people instead of getting straight to a point?

"It's early, so he should be in the tea shop. Come!" the skunk said but was interrupted by a violent coughing fit and the other skunk ran to them.

"Ramses!" she yelled and glanced angrily at Judy. "Look at what you did, you stupid hare!"

"It's okay", said the other skunk in midst of his coughing. As he finally was able to stop coughing, Judy could see a small trail of blood trickling down on his chin. Judy watched him horrified as he wiped it away, and as she was reaching towards him, he raised his paw.

"It's okay, this happens often."

"Come on, let's get you inside", the girl skunk said as he wrapped the other's arm around her neck. She turned to Judy and stuck her tongue out.

It turned out the tea shop was nothing like a shop, just an old turtle selling dry leaves in the corner. On a lawn chair next to him there saw an old warthog and flies were circling him as if he was a rotten piece of meat, or something even more disastrous.

"Ah, warthog. Hoggy. That's cool", she muttered to herself. Then she waved her hand and happily shouted: "Hello there!"

Both the turtle and the warthog turned their heads veeeeeeery slooooowly at Judy, stared at her for a minute and then went back on doing nothing, without a word.

"Umm… Heyyy", she said trying to catch their attention.

The old animals ignored her and she was getting frustrated.

"Hello? I want to talk to you!"

"Don't bother, they're deaf", a familiar voice said and she turned around, seeing Nick behind her. He was wearing a blue hoodie and simple jeans.

"Nick?"

He signed something to the old men who then nodded and then he stared walking away, gesturing Judy to come with her.

"I didn't know you knew sign language!" she said surprised.

"Yeah", Nick mumbled vaguely.

"I was looking for you."

"Yeah, I know. I was walking home when that little skunk told me", Nick told her. "My place's close."

"I didn't know where you live so I had to ask Finnick", Judy said.

"I know."

Soon they arrived in an old apartment and walked to a door that was red. Judy realized it must've been because the old one was damaged or something.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Judy asked when Nick searched his pockets fr the key.

"Yeah, this isn't very ideal place for a cop", Nick told.

"Why didn't you use your salary to move somewhere better?"

"Two reasons. One: I used my salary to move here. Before this place I was homeless."

"Oh."

"Two: I lived here as a kid."

"You did?"

"Well, practically not here. The old building was demolished because of the health risks inside, and this was built on its place."

He finally found the key and was able to open the door. Judy walked into a small, messy room and she accidentally stepped on a squeaky toy.

"Why do you have this?" she asked as she raised the rubber chicken.

"I'm not sure where it came from. Please have a seat."

There were no chairs in the room. Well, expect for one but it was missing a leg and was lying in the corner like abandoned trash. And the only sofa was filled with clothes, magazines, one huge book and all kind of other things.

"Oops. Sorry", Nick said and then disappeared through a door. He came back with a plastic chair.

"Balcony? Nice", Judy said.

She sat on the chair and Nick walked into the kitchen.

"Do you want coffee or tea?"

"Um, coffee."

"Out of it."

"Then tea."

"Don't have that either."

"Then what's the point offering them to me?" Judy thought to herself. "What do you have?"

"Water", Nick answered.

"Then I'd like that."

"I don't recommend drinking it, though. Since it's spring and the snow is still melting, the water in the pipes has become unclean", Nick told. "But the problem usually solves itself in a moth or so."

"Ah. I see", Judy said.

"I actually went to the store but forgot my wallet and came back to retrieve it. But hey, here it is!" he yelled and Judy saw him taking a black wallet from the counter, and next to it there was a picture of a young fox and his mother.

"Your mother was beautiful", Judy said.

"I know", Nick mumbled as he walked to Judy. He gave her a cupcake as he was munching his own, and Judy accepted it.

"What have you been up to?" she asked.

"Nothing much. It's still very early."

"Right. Well, your father did contact me."

"He did?"

"Yes, but… Uh, I think you should think this through one more time."

"Why? I already decided I will see him."

"Yes, but he isn't… There are things about him…"

"No need to worry. I know what kind of person he is."

"Fine. I won't pressure you", Judy said. "He said to meet him tonight at eleven o'clock in the warehouse 7 in Saint Something's Road."

"Do you happen to know an address that's a bit more… Specific?"

"I do, but I kinda don't remember it… 3-hundred-and-something… I think it was Saint Wilbur!"

"Do you have your phone?"

"Well… Yeah."

"Good. Then try to find the Warehouse 7 on 3-hundred-and-something Saint Wilbur's Road or something like that", commanded her. Judy was not entirely sure if he was mocking her.

"Nothing", she said.

"Okay. Only Warehouse 7? There can't be too many warehouses in Zootopia."

He was right, there were two. The other was near the center and the other was in the outskirts on the town, on an abandoned area that was named the Ghost Town. Its address also happened to be 354 Saint Wilson's Road.

"Yeah, like he couldn't have picked a more creepy place to meet", Nick muttered. About thirty years ago the Ghost Town had been one of the many districts of the town, but after a gang fight between two crime syndicates, the other being led by the Tsar, the town was quickly abandoned. The day was known as the Christmas Eve Carnage, and not only did many innocent civilians die, also the Tsar was caught that day and put on the death row. It was said to be one of the biggest tragedies to ever strike Zootopia.

"Well. I guess we should walk there, just in case" Judy said. "We can't let anyone see us, so if we don't go by a car it should not be a problem."

"We? You sure you want to come too?"

"Of course I'll come, and we will not talk about that."

"Okay, whatever. But it's forty kilometers. I don't want to walk forty kilometers."

"Okay, we'll go by bus the first thirty. Is that cool?"

"I guess."

"Are you nervous?"

"Huh? No. Okay, a bit." Nick said. "I shouldn't do this, but just in case…"

He put his hand under the table and Judy heard a voice as if he was ripping tape out of wood.

"It better not be what I think it is, Nick", she said with a lecturing tone.

"It is", Nick grinned and handed Judy a handgun.

"We're going to get in so much trouble if they find out", Judy said, referring to the ZPD.

"They aren't going to find out. But if they do, say that I made you do it", Nick said as he took a gun to himself as well. "We need to be careful. Not that I don't trust my father, but a wise man once said: 'Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong' and we should be prepared."

"Yeah, that's true. Please tell me you got these legally."

"Of course", Nick said but Judy had a disbelieving look on her face.

"As legally as I could", he snickered.

"You know, the last week I have done more criminal stuff than I have done police stuff in my whole life", Judy murmured.

"Haha. You're cute when you're mad", Nick said.

"How long have you even had these?" Judy asked.

"Irrelevant", Nick muttered.

Judy didn't admit it, but she too was very nervous. However, she was very happy for Nick and she felt that Piberius really missed his son. Maybe everything would go well. Maybe Nick could have a father again.

 _Maybe_.


	14. Chapter 14

**Whoa, it has been a while, huh? Sorry about making you wait. There has been a lot going on, you see. So we lost the championships. Feels really bad but I hope we'll do better next year (I keep saying that but we always lose, every fricking year). 3.25 million people watched it and the population is a bit over 5 million so that's about 60% of the whole country, and that's also 3.25 million depressed people. And then I have had a shitload of school projects and exams but luckily summer vacation is starting tomorrow! And not that I am trying to make up any excuses, but my lil sis was on a bicycle accident yesterday and holy crap, she looks horrible! She has a huge bruise on her cheek and her arm is all scarred and her knee –ugh, I don't even want to think about it. She is okay but I'm sure she's going to have scars for the rest of her life. Oh, and her bike broke. It was new; we bought it like two or three weeks ago. And from now on I'm going to make sure she always wears her helmet.**

 **Uh, anyway, here's another chapter. God, this was hard to write.**

 **Disclaimer: You may think that this is unnecessary but have you heard of Anne Rice? Yeah, I don't own Zootopia.**

 **Oh, and I listened to** _ **Tdp4 Team Battle Sountrack – Slaughterhouse**_ **while writing this! If you want, just search it on youtube and press mouse button 2 (right button) where you should have an option to put it on repeat.**

 **(holy crap I really need to learn to make my AN shorter..)**

 **-Chapter 14-**

"Nervous?"

"That's the third time you're asking me that, Carrots."

"Just wanted to be sure."

They were walking in the Ghost town, with fog surrounding them and the abandoned buildings. There was something really creepy yet beautiful about the town, Judy thought as she watched the empty houses.

Their destination, the warehouse, was getting closer each second and soon Nick would finally meet his father. Judy kept repeating all kinds of horrible scenarios in her head of what could happen, but she knew that she was only being paranoid. She had always been an optimist, _always_ , yet now she found it very hard to concentrate on the good things. But she had met Nick's father and he really didn't strike her as the type who would hurt his only son.

"There it is", Nick said and Judy realised she had been so deep in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed the building. It was in every way a normal-looking warehouse and there wasn't really anything unusual about it.

"Does he want us to go in?" Judy wondered aloud as she scanned the area and saw no trace of Piberius.

"I guess", Nick said shrugging and studied the three doors on the wall. There were five doors, all lined up neatly and one of them was way bigger than the others, so he assumed it was for transportation and nothing more.

"D-Do you think we should wait…" Judy mumbled but Nick didn't hear her. The first door he tried to open did not even budge, but the second rolled up easily and they could see the inside of the almost empty warehouse.

There was a person standing nearby, and as he heard the door, he turned to look at the source. He was standing in the shadows but it was clear that he was a fox.

"Nicholas", he said quietly and took a step closer out of the shadows. He was staring at Nick and Nick was staring at him. "You came."

The door rolled quietly back when Nick let go of it.

"My, my, you're grown!" Piberius yelled and got even closer. His arms were stretched out as to hug Nick, but the latter was a little hesitant to respond to the hug.

Judy felt relieved. How could this kind of man even do bad things? It could not be possible. He had killed Markov's men in self-defence, of course that must've been it. Seeing Piberius awkwardly hug Nick made her heart fill with joy.

"I'm sorry, miss… What was it now?" Piberius looked at her.

"Hopps."

"Right, Miss Hopps. Sorry. Is it okay if we go into this room to sort things out? We have a lot to talk with my son, and not that I don't appreciate you being here, I'd prefer to talk without the presence of an outsider", the older fox said. Judy looked at Nick who nodded.

"Okay. I'll stay here", she said.

Piberius thanked him and walked to the storage room close to them, Nick following behind. Judy leaned on the wall with her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

The storage room was empty, and there was a foul stench but Nick didn't recognize it.

"Sorry. We should have picked a better place", Piberius chuckled awkwardly. He looked at Nick who seemed unimpressed.

"So. You became a police man", Piberius said.

"Yeah", Nick replied vaguely.

"Is it a good job?"

Nick shrugged.

"It has its ups and downs", he replied. "Like the fact I was fired, a total down", he wanted to add but suppressed the urge.

"You've grown", Piberius said. He wanted to slam his head into the wall from repeating the sentence.

"Yeah. Time does that to people", Nick mockingly remarked and made his father light-heartedly chuckle.

"I guess that is so. Wow, my son - a cop! Couldn't be prouder!"

"Yeah..."

"Are you eating properly? Sleeping enough?"

"I guess."

"You look very tired", Piberius said and his tone changed drastically. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah", Nick claimed. Piberius looked sceptical but nodded anyway.

"Good."

A very awkward silence fell between the two and they both just stared each other.

"Why did you leave?" Nick then asked.

"You know why. It would have been too dangerous not only for me but for you and your mother too if I had stayed."

"No, I mean what was the reason you had to leave?"

"Ah. That was when we had no money and I had no other choice than to borrow it from one man. But I couldn't pay it back, and they threatened to kill us all! But he was a honorable man and would never have hurt you if he hadn't gained anything from it", Piberius explained. "I did it for you. I did it all for you."

"Who was the guy?"

"Just a Fursian man. It isn't important. He found me a few years ago but before he killed me, I managed to convince him to let me work for him to pay my depts."

Nick wasn't sure what to say.

"But about you. How's that bunny? You made a good decision, she'll make a good w..."

"Judy and I are only friends and that's what we'll always be. We're not dating."

"Ah, I see. That's a shame, she has a really nice figure."

"Okay, now you're just weird."

"Sorry."

"Besides, interspecies marriage is still frowned upon, especially if it is between a prey and a predator", Nick said.

"That is true. But so was the thought of a fox being a cop", Piberius reminded Nick.

Only that I am not a cop anymore, Nick thought but kept quiet. He wasn't going to disappoint his father right after meeting him again.

"You look like your mother", Piberius suddenly said but Nick himself didn't see that. He knew he looked a lot like his father but no one had ever said he looked like his mother.

"You think?"

"Yes. You have… There's something about your eyes. They're gentle, like her were. God bless her soul", Piberius said.

Nick was sure there was something wrong with Piberius's sight. He really needed glasses.

"Listen… Son", Piberius said. "What do you say… If you'd move with me?"

* * *

Judy was quite bored just standing there, so she had decided to examine every inch of the warehouse. She was upstairs and walked past some boxes that were covered by a white sheet to a huge garage door that was ajar, but there was nothing when she looked in. The next door was closed but she could easily roll it up, only to find nothing again. There was nothing behind the third door either.

She was humming an old song by Gazelle, Whatever Whichever, and leaned on the wall tapping her foot rhythmically on the floor. It had probably only been fifteen minutes and she knew it would take hours for the foxes to sort things out.

Since it was close to midnight, it was very chilly and even though she had her jacket, she was shaking a little.

Another fifteen minutes in and had moved to the other side of the warehouse and was now counting the tiles.

"121, 122, 123..." she mumbled and suddenly heard a clang. Her ears perked up and she looked around but saw nothing. Just as she was going to yell Nick's name, she saw a figure moving behind the window. She wasn't sure what animal it was but it wasn't too big, only a bit bigger than a fox, maybe the size of a dog. But Judy could see that it was not a dog, as the shape of its head was way too different, like the one of a bear's. But it couldn't have been that either as it was too small for that.

The realization hit her like a bus and her heart skipped a beat. It shouldn't have been but it clearly was, she kept thinking. The figure belonged to a wolverine, it was clear. Not just any wolverine. Judging from his footsteps, it was no one other than Markov.

"Wallander! Or should I say Wilde? I've come here to collect my debt! Stop acting like a frightened pussy and come out! трус!" she heard the wolverine yell with all his might. Judy leaned on the wall to catch her breath.

"He's alive..! Why is he alive? Why is he here, why now? Why, why, why…" she asked herself, but then she shook her head and put her hand under her shirt, where she had hid the gun. "No, I'm a cop, for god's sake! I live for this kind of stuff!"

"WILDE! LET'S SETTLE THIS LIKE MEN, SHALL WE?!"

* * *

Nick was just staring at the man in front of him when they heard the voice.

"Who is he?" Nick asked but Piberius shook his head.

"It seems we've got company", Piberius said and suddenly he grinned. "I've been waiting for this day."

"Dad?" Nick asked

Piberius took a gun from his boot, an old pistol with beautiful markings.

Piberius didn't know how Markov had found him but he didn't have time to think about that.

"Take you gun", he told Nick who was shocked to the fact that Piberius knew he carried a gun. Perhaps he wasn't senile old fool yet.

"Who is he?" Nick asked again.

"A friend", Piberius replied.

"WILDE, IF YOU DO NOT COME OUT, I'LL COME IN! ONE, TWO…"

A huge explosion shook the building.

"Holy shit, he has explosives!" Nick yelled.

"Language!" Piberius commanded. He walked out of the storage and saw Markov standing in front of the hole he had just blown on the wall.

"Ahahaha, found you!" Markov yelled. Judy could finally see him better and he looked like he had gone through better days. His fur was a mess and he looked like he was losing it any minute. Or maybe he had already lost it. He had an ugly grin on his face and his eye was red, as if it was bleeding. Behind him there was an army of other animals, mainly wolves, wolverines and lynxes.

Judy though she had hidden well, but clearly not.

"Ah, dearest _krolik_ , we meet again", he said. "Your raccoon friend truly gave me hard time. Get her!"

Two of Markov's men started running towards Judy. She took the gun in her hand and got ready to fight if necessary.

"This is your last chance, Wilde. Pay your debts or die!" she heard Markov yell.

"Die? Not going to happen, sorry, pal", Piberius replied.

"So be it", said Markov and before Nick realised, Markov had thrown a grenade at them. Another explosion filled the room.

"Shit!" Judy yelled but saw that both of the foxes were okay. Piberius started firing at Markov's army and Judy was surprised to see that instead of aiming for legs he actually tried to kill them.

"Nick?!" Piberius yelled in the midst of the gunfire.

"Yeah?" Nick yelled back.

"I'M SORRY I LEFT!" Piberius practically screamed.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING THAT NOW?"

"I JUST TOUGHT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW!"

Judy had come down and two lynxes where chasing her, but luckily she saw two barrels that she jumped over and kicked at the lynxes. The other cat fell and cursed.

"HEY MARKOV, THERE WAS A WORD THAT YOU HAD DIED! HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?" Piberius taunted the wolverine whose eyes flashed red.

"Yeah? Well I don't want to hear that from someone whose son is in the police force, traitor!"

"I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I SAID I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM SOMEONE WHOSE SON IS IN THE POLICE FORCE!"

"DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID? HIS ACCENT IS SO THICK", Piberius asked Nick.

"NOT A THING", Nick answered.

Judy was running, unsure what to do as she turned behind a corner. She took a quick look of her gun.

"Should I…?" she wondered when suddenly the lynx appeared in front of her, trying to get her but she reacted instinctively and kicked the lynx. Despite being small, she managed to hit a bad place and the lynx fell down screaming.

"Y-You bitch!" the lynx yelled with tears filling his eyes and tried to crawl to Judy while holding on to his precious jewels. "I-I'm going to kill you!"

Neither of them had noticed they had entered a storage room, but as Judy's back hit the wall, she realized and got an idea. She taunted the lynx and waited until he was really close, and then she jumped over him and shot the button next to them. The door started closing and Judy was going to run away but suddenly fell and saw that the lynx had grabbed her leg, making her unable to leave.

Judy tried to kick him but he didn't even react, only grinned like a maniac.

"You're going nowhere!" he yelled and Judy gritted her teeth as she saw the door closing more and more. Soon they both would be locked in the damn storage.

"I can shoot you!" Judy yelled and pointed the lynx with her gun.

"Really? Do it then", the lynx commanded with his voice full of confidence.

"I could!"

"I doubt so, honey."

Judy heard the distant sounds of Piberius and Nick's gunfire and hoped they were okay. Would Nick be willing to shoot anyone? No, of course not. He wouldn't, at least not to kill.

The door was getting closer to the floor each second and Judy felt her heart beat quickening. She didn't even think when she suddenly threw her gun to the lynx's head, the grip hitting the cat in the eye and he released Judy who darted to the door. She knew she'd have to slide under it and prayed to god she'd make it.

She slid and the door closed, just as she was out but something had stayed inside. She looked at her behind and saw that most of her tail was stuck on the other side, and it hurt a lot.

"Oh man", she said. "Oh crap. Oh crap."

The lynx she had tackled was running closer and his arm was in his jacket, probably reaching for his gun.

"fuck fuck shit damn", she kept mentally repeating as she tried to pull her tail away. She used all of her strength but it felt like nothing was happening, and the lynx was coming closer. She was absolutely horrified.

Suddenly the lynx was stopped as someone launched another barrel at him, the same second when Judy finally felt a horrible pain on her tail and got free. Half of her tail was under the door and she wanted to cry at the ugly mess. She was quite sure tails didn't grow back.

"Nick!" she yelled at her savior but realized he was no fox. As he walked to the lynx and began choking him until he stopped struggling, Judy saw that it was a raccoon.

"Allen!" she yelled as she saw the slender raccoon started running towards her. "I thought you had already..."

"I had other business", Allen said, interrupting her. Despite looking like something that crawled out of its grave, he seemed to be alright. "I heard you were in a pinch, so I came to help."

He flashed her a smile and then he saw Judy's ripped tail.

"Oh."

"Never mind about that! Things are crazy. Markov? Well, it seems he's alive", Judy told. "He's here."

"I know. That's why I'm here. Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yes, of course. How did you know to come here?"

"I just did. Do you have a phone?"

"Yeah, but the reception's weak."

"We need to get somewhere high so that we can get it to work", Allen said and as he saw Judy looking at him a bit confused and he elaborated: "I mean, you need to call others for your aid, huh?"

"Others... Who?"

"The police, of course."

"I'm suspended", Judy reminded him.

"For how long? You're not fired, only suspended. Just think of it as a... Short vacation", Allen said.

"So, where do we go?"

"To the roof."

Judy looked up. There were a lot of huge skylights on the ceiling and she was quite sure even opening them might be a bit hard, but at least there were two of them. The next problem was how to get up there without being noticed?

"What if we go outside?" Judy proposed.

"How can we? I came from a window. The yard is full of Markov's minions", Allen told.

Judy nodded and got up.

"Let's start climbing then."

* * *

Markov was furious.

No, he was more than furious. There isn't a word to describe how angry he was when another rone of his men dropped on the floor dead. Why was the old fox such a good shooter? And the bunny had not been caught yet. She didn't even know where she was.

Markov and the foxes respectively had decided they needed a small break, and he was trying to catch his breath when he coughed don his paw.

"This is all because of that damn raccoon", he thought.

"У тебя всё в порядке, босс?" asked a wolf who was sitting next to him, with his left arm bleeding. The wolf was carrying an AK-47 with him.

"Заткнись!" Markov yelled and growled. He had to admit, though, maybe he should have waited a bit longer before confronting the damn fox. He was thinking hard.

"Boss!" yelled another wolf who suddenly came into view. Unlike almost everyone, this one had no accent whatsoever.

"WHAT?" Markov snapped.

"Uh, I just, um… The McCoon…"

"What about him?"

"O-or his brother…"

"Just tell me, god dammit!"

"Okay. He's here. He's going somewhere with the bunny."

Markov stared at the ground thoughtful and then got up, changing the magazine on his rifle.

"I see. Make sure they won't see the daylight ever again. Take Avdeyev and Dragomirov", he said to the wolf who nodded and left immediately.

"Volkov!" he yelled at the back where another wolf got up. He had been trying to patch up an arctic fox who had died despite the wolf's efforts.

"Yessir!"

"Let's go."

"Yessir!"

Just thinking about the fox running freely got Markov's blood boil.

"If you fail to kill them, I'll feed you to roaches!" he threatened to the few men who were uninjured.

"YESSIR!" the cried in a pretty nice choir.


	15. Chapter 15

**Wow, this took me way longer than intended. Anyway, here it is! (finally lol) As always, it might be full of mistakes. Stupid spellcheck, it never works for me.**

 **Disclaimer: Repeat after me: I do not own Zootopia. Never have, never will.**

 **-Chapter 15-**

"So… Have you thought about moving to my place?" Piberius asked Nick as they were hiding behind a shelf.

Nick, who had been trying to look for Markov through the shelf, turned to his father.

"I really didn't have time to think about it, you know, considering they were trying to shoot us!" he snapped as a reply.

"Well, now you have some time before they come, right?"

Nick sighed.

"You know, I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, I don't even know you all that well!" he yelled.

"But you can always get to know me!" Piberius said.

"Yeah, well… I don't know", Nick mumbled hoping that they would abandon the subject as he did not feel comfortable talking about it. As a kid he had admired his father but now he only tolerated the man. There was something about him that seemed a little off, or maybe Nick was just paranoid. But it was clear the man had not told him everything.

"I think I can make you change your mind", Piberius said quietly and got up. "He's coming."

Nick braced himself and took a deep breath.

"I wonder how Judy is doing…"

"Huh? I'm sure she's fine. She seems strong."

"Wildeee! Come here! Talk with me, will you?" they heard the Fursian animal yell.

"Let's go", Piberius said to Nick who sighed again and marched behind his father.

* * *

As Judy and Allen were running, she saw a door on the left that was ajar. Three animals were following close and she didn't even have her gun anymore, so they had really no other options than to just run. She saw that there was a bulge that was shaped like a pistol in Allen's pocket and she had no idea why he wasn't using the gun.

"Let's go through this room!" she yelled to Allen.

"Okay!"

Judy opened the door to a dark storage room and if they had had more time, she would maybe have been more shocked after seeing the room. It was filled with all kinds of weapons like guns but also spears, bows and even more swords. But the weapons weren't the only thing that drew her attention, no, instead it was the torture devices. In the corner of the room there was an iron maiden and on the side there was a metal table with restraints. She also saw a rack in the room and felt sick.

"Looks like this place wasn't so abandoned after all", she said.

"Yeah", Allen agreed.

As they walked across the room, Judy couldn't help but notice the newspapers on the ground. Almost every single one was related to the bloodbath in the Ghost Town. It made her shudder.

A loud snap startled Judy and she turned around only to see Allen falling on the ground with pain. She quickly scanned him and saw nothing until her eyes focused on his leg. What a gruesome sight it was.

His left leg was caught in a bear trap. Judy had never seen one herself but she had heard of them in history class. Apparently, thousands of years ago they were used by humans and a few exhibits lied around in some museums.

"I didn't notice it", Allen said in pain, gritting he teeth. His paws were shaking as he touched the leg and they were immediately stained red.

How do you not notice a bear trap, Judy yelled in her mind but knew she had to act fast, because they were being chased.

Judy let out a wild group of different words as she knelt next to Allen.

"We need to get it to open", she stated and Allen didn't even seem to mind how obvious the comment was.

"Can you?" he asked with his voice shaking and as Judy inspected the trap, her blood run cold. Even a bigger animal could have problems opening it without the tool and she was feeling very helpless and small at the moment.

She let out a strangled sob as she tried to pry open the jaws but it only made Allen grunt in pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry", she said.

"It's okay, I'm okay", he said despite sounding the exact opposite. He took a deep breath and said: "Let's try together."

They managed to get the jaws open only a few millimeters, but Allen's fingers slipped and it closed again, sprouting more blood on the floor. Judy had just managed to pull her paws away before they would've turned into a bloody mess. Allen bit his paw trying to suppress a yell.

Judy was getting afraid and she was sure even if they'd manage to free him, he wouldn't walk very fast anymore and the moment the jaws would be separated from his leg, blood would start pooling faster than ever, and even if they'd bandage it, they'd never hide the bloody trail they'd leave after them.

Judy wiped her forehead and tried to think. Raccoons were small animals, so it was clear the trap had snapped the whole bone and it was a miracle his leg hadn't been fully severed.

Allen was breathing fast and he lied on the floor for a second, trying to gather some strength.

"Can you find a-an iron bar or t-the like?" he asked Judy, who immediately looked around and got up carefully.

"I'll try", she said and studied the room quickly. She heard footsteps coming closer and gritted her teeth.

"They're coming", Allen said quietly. "Judy, you need to leave."

"No!" Judy said and frantically looked for anything to help to open the trap.

"Judy!" Allen yelled. The steps were getting closer each second.

"I'm not leaving you!" she yelled. What a cliché, and yet she was in this situation.

In the corner she saw a wooden blank.

"This will have to do", she then decided and ran back to Allen.

"Can you get it to open a little?" she asked Allen who nodded.

He grabbed the jaws and pulled them away from each other, grimacing in pain, but they opened enough for Judy to slide the blank in between the jaws.

"Okay, I'll try to move them", she said. "Ready?"

Allen took another deep breath and then nodded. "Yes."

Judy moved the blank up with all of her might and the trap opened little by little. It was slow, but it was opening.

"Just a bit more", she said and Allen braced for it. The teeth were leaving Allen's leg and he did his everything so that he wouldn't scream.

Just when they thought they had done it, the blank broke and the trap closed again, and this time Allen couldn't stop himself from screaming.

Judy was now crying and her fur was stained by the tears.

"I'm sorry", she whispered very quietly and her shoulders were shaking.

Allen put his paw on Judy's shoulder, leaving a bloody print and tried smiling reassuringly.

"Hey, Judy", he said. "You need to leave. They're coming."

"No", Judy insisted.

"Judy, I'm serious! Even if we did manage to open it, I doubt I could walk."

"But..."

"I'd only slow you down."

"Yeah, but..."

"Just go!" Allen yelled and his eyes filled with tears. Shakily he took the gun out of his pocket.

"Allen…"

"It's Chris's. You need to take it, okay? You need to be careful. Markov is a beast. He will kill you, so just take it. I'm sorry; it only has three bullets so make sure every single one of them hits."

Judy gulped nodding.

"Alright."

"They're here in matter of seconds, so you're going to have to run now. Oh, and Judy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we met", Allen said grinning but his eyes were filled with salty tears.

Judy cried as she nodded and got up.

"Me too. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll give your regards to Chris", he said and gave her a last smile. Judy turned away and ran towards the door, and just as she was entering the next room, she heard three animals entered the room where Allen was. She turned her head but hoped that she hadn't done it as she saw one of them, a Siberian tiger, shooting Allen in the head.

Time seemed to stop as she saw the raccoon fall on the floor with his eyes wide open and blood coming from the huge wound on his forehead as well as his nose and mouth. She wanted to vomit but knew this was not the time to think about it. Tears filled her eyes as she continued dashing forward, holding her paw on her mouth. She heard the tiger yelling commands to the other two.

* * *

The firefight had continued for five minutes when Markov hid behind a wall and changed the magazine on his rifle.

"You know, I've been thinking", he said to Volkov. "What do you think is this man's weak spot?"

"His balls", the wolf answered. "Like every man's."

"No, that's not what I meant, idiot! I meant is there something he is ready to protect to death?"

Volkov looked thoughtful and then his eyes brightened.

"You sly wolverine", he said.

"Oh, yes", Markov smirked and nodded. "And before you say anything stupid, I need to make it clear I'm talking about his son."

"I knew that."

"Good. Listen now, everybody! Stop shooting now!" Markov commanded and it became quiet, apart from the blasts from Piberius's gun that echoed in the warehouse.

"What?"

"Stop shooting", Markov repeated and this time it caused a lot of commotion.

"What do you mean, boss?"

"We almost got them!"

"Why the hell are you telling us this?"

"Because I am going to talk to him", Markov said and almost everyone stared at him dumbfounded. "What? I'm talking to him, trying to get him back into the business. I need him, after all. Also I have a great plan."

"So... Should we just…"

"Don't shoot anymore. I'm going to talk with him", Markov said. There was something creepy about his grin as he got up and nodded to his few remaining minions.

* * *

Judy had finally managed to climb outside. It was very cold outside, after all it was almost in the middle of the night and she was high on the roof where the wind blew strongly.

She wiped her tears and tried not to think about Allen as she took her phone, but noticed that there was still no service.

"Dammit!" she cussed and tried calling but the phone only beeped at her.

She knew she didn't have that much time so she texted the first person she thought of – Officer Clawhauser.

 _need backup warehouse 7 354 saint wilsons road maniac with a gun_

She hit send and waited but grew impatient in a few seconds.

"Come on, come on, come on…" she said. "Answer, god dammit!"

She couldn't believe she was here avoiding the fight while her best friend was fighting, but someone had to contact the police force or else they'd all be dead before sunrise.

She looked down the window and saw that the three animals who were following her had finally spotted her, and started climbing the never-ending stairs with guns in their paws.

"Dammit!" she yelled over and over again as a bullet shot straight up next to her and she started running on the roof. She looked down from the edge and saw that it was at least over 11 meters, a fall that could prove fatal. She had the gun in her paws but they were suddenly shaking. She had never been as afraid as she was now.

Suddenly her phone vibrated on her hand and she saw that Officer Clawhauser was calling her.

"Benjamin!" she yelled as she answered-

"Judy, where are you ? Are you okay?!" the leopard asked her frantically.

"Yeah, I'm okay but don't know how long! I could really use some help! Nick is here too, and his father, and they're trying to defend themselves and I'm being chased by Markov's minions and oh my god, they killed Allen and I'm seriously kinda frightened right now!"

"Whoa, did you say Markov?"

"Does it matter?! We need help now!"

"Of course. I… I'll see what I can do. Just hang on!"

"Yeah, I'm trying!"

She looked back and saw that the tiger was just climbing to the roof, only a few seconds away.

She gritted her teeth and hoped Clawhauser acted fast. She wondered if she should have contacted someone else, perhaps someone… Faster? But she trusted Clawhauser and knew he could send backup.

The fall was as long as outside, but there were some stairs and stories on the way. Well, not really in the middle of the building where the skylight windows were, but if she stretched her arm enough… Maybe she could jump on something and land safely to the ground and then sneak to one of the corpses and take his gun… Then she wouldn't have to worry about wasting bullets. No, she didn't want to do it. She didn't want to take a dead man's gun as if they were dead just for that. She would do that. How could she do that?

But they are bad people, she thought. They need to be, it's not like Piberius could be that bad, right? But he was obviously exhilarated after seeing Nick. That meant he just had to be a father who loved his son very much, right?

But he didn't come to his wife's funeral.

For god's sake, he wasn't there when Nick needed him the most!

As a bulled whizzed right next to her, she jolted awake from her thoughts and weighed her options. If she stayed on the roof, she could die.

If she jumped, she could die.

The tiger was closest to her, so she raised the gun and fired.

It missed the tiger just by a few inches, but the feline got angrier and shot a Judy, who managed to dodge the bullet just in time. She gritted her teeth as she felt stinging pain in her ear and realized the bullet had burned the tip of her ear. If she were to survive the night, she would look like a hobo, that was sure.

She fired again but it was nowhere close hitting any of the animals. She cursed and wanted to yell. She only had one bullet anymore and her paws were shaking so violently she wasn't sure she could even pull the trigger anymore.

Her ears drooped as she realized what she had to do. She raised her paws up.

"Huh?" the Siberian tiger looked at her weirdly.

"I think she's surrendering", said a white wolf who was right behind the tiger, and behind him there was a moose.

"Yeah, I can see that. Why is she surrendering?" asked the tiger.

"I don't know. Let's ask her", the wolf said. "Hey, bunny! Why are you surrendering?"

Judy's paws were shaking.

"I… Um, because I can't fight..?" she said.

"Weird", the moose muttered.

"What do we do?" asked the wolf.

"I don't know. Did Markov say anything about this kind of situation?"

"Um, no, I don't think so. Besides, she's a bunny. I don't want to kill a bunny."

Judy couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I know, they're good and they have fluffy tails", the moose said, being the only one from the three to be evolved from an herbivore.

Judy looked at her poor tail that was nothing like fluffy anymore.

"You know, what if we don't shoot her", the wolf said and lowered his voice. "What do you say, gentlemen, if we have some fun with her..?"

"You have a wife, Krupin."

"So?"

"Sorry, what kind of fun do you mean? Like… like _adult fun_ or playing Uno?" the moose asked.

"Gee, of course I meant playing Uno", the wolf said sarcastically.

"Okay, just checked", the moose said defensively.

Were all of these people idiots? Judy wondered. Or were they just teasing her?

"Uhm, if I… If I get to say…" she said clearing her throat.

"What is it, bunny?" the tiger asked.

"I wouldn't mind a round of Uno."

What the hell was she doing? She should be fighting, but it was like she was on autopilot.

"Did you hear? The bunny wants to play Uno", said the moose.

"The hell, Avdeyev? It's not like we carry Uno with us!" yelled the wolf.

"Maybe not _you_ , but mind you, I'm often bored", the moose said and took a Uno-pack from his coat.

The wolf wanted to slap him, but didn't dare as the moose was way bigger.

"I can't believe I'm seeing this", said the tiger.

"Yeah, me neither", Judy said as she stared at the three wide-eyed.

"I'll tell you what. We play Uno, the party that wins shall live and the party that loses will have to shoot themselves", the moose who was called Avdeyev by his colleagues proposed.

"Party? Like us versus the bunny?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, is that really fair. I mean, that means my chances of dying are 3 of 4 while your chances of dying are 1 of 4!" Judy yelled. Why was she here on the roof fighting about some silly game with these gangsters?

"It's true", said the moose and the three animals started whispering to each other. Judy sat on the roof, knowing this could take a while.

After a minute the three animals turned back to her.

"That's it, we have decided. You, bunny, shall play with our pal Avdeyev here while me and Dragomirov play together. If we win, you two will die and if you win, we will die. How's that sound?"

"Hey, why do I have to play with her…" the moose said but was harshly ignored.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Judy asked.

"Well, we have been a few minutes on this roof and haven't tried to kill you. Besides, we are honourable men. We don't tend to break promises", the wolf, Krupin, told her.

Judy knew she had better chances of surviving, so she decided to play.

"Okay, let's do it then"; she sad and walked to them. They sat on a ring on the roof and put their guns away.

"Does everyone know how to play?" asked Avdeyev and the others nodded. "Good."

* * *

"Alright, I've had enough!" Piberius and Nick both looked surprised as they saw the wolverine walk in front of them with his paws pointing at the sky. "Wilde, you're a coward."

Markov's minions had stopped shooting a while ago and only Piberius had continued the fight, but now he too refrained from shooting the wolverine.

"I notice that fighting will get me nowhere", said Markov and walked in front of the foxes. Nick had lowered his gun but Piberius pointed at the wolverine.

"Everyone, get out!" Markov yelled to his army and hesitantly they exited the room. There were only about 15 animals left.

Markov chuckled, dropped his rifle on the floor and kicked it away.

"See? I'm here to talk."

It was Piberius's turn to laugh.

"Nice try, Markov. That wasn't all of them, was it?"

Markov scoffed and dropped a handgun from his coat.

"You know me so well", he said mockingly, like a school girl in love.

"The other one too. And the knife", said Piberius.

There was something eerie about Markov's smile as he bowed and dropped another handgun and two knives on the ground.

"That's all, I swear", he said.

"I see. Then, let's talk."

"What about you?" Markov asked.

"Huh? What about me?"

"What about your gun? I'm unarmed, you should be as well."

"I'm not the one being pointed with a gun", Piberius said. "You are not in the position of reciting conditions."

"I see", Markov murmured. "Well then. I'm here to propose."

"I'm sorry, I am a widow and I will never marry anyone else and my son here already someone on his mind."

"What the hell!" Nick yelled.

"Haw, haw, very clever", Markov said. "I meant I'm here to talk to you about work."

"Should we really trust him?" Nick whispered.

"Don't worry, son, I got this all under control."

"Now, Wilde, we may not be the bestest of friends, but let's face it, we're a good team. Your cooking abilities and my minions, we should really continue working together."

"Cooking?" Nick asked dumbfounded.

"I mean drugs, smaller Wilde", Markov told him.

"Drugs?!"

"Don't listen to him, son, he's delusional", Piberius said yet he continued talking with Markov: "Didn't we already work together, and look ho that turned out!"

"Yes, but that was when you were in debt. Now I'm willing to share some of the profits with you", Markov said.

"What is he talking about?" Nick wanted to know

"Shut up, son", Piberius said harshly. He was clearly thinking of accepting Markov's proposition.

"He may come as well", Markov said, talking about Nick.

"Da… Piberius", Nick said. "What is he talking about? You're a cook?"

"Oh, yes indeed he is. Have you heard of Bezmyatezhnost?" Markov asked and Piberius growled menacingly.

"That's one hard word", Nick mumbled.

"He doesn't need to know, Markov", he spat out.

"No, I want to know. What is it?"

"It means Serenity. It is also the name of the drug you papa here has been making", Markov said and Piberius hit him in the muzzle with the stock of his gun, almost making Markov fall. He spat out a small amount of blood and grinned.

"Piberius, let him talk", Nick said angrily.

Markov laughed.

"Yep, clearly you didn't know, boy, but your father is an entrepreneur. It's too bad he has not been able to finish the drug", he said cackling. "You see, everyone who takes it dies within two hours!"

Nick couldn't believe what he as hearing and he just stared at the wolverine.

"Two hours! I helped him distribute it so that we'd have test subjects but all of them have already died! Then he left even though he's the only one who knows the damn recipe!"

Piberius hit Markov again and this time the wolverine fell on the floor. He kept laughing in an ugly manner and blood was pouring from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, it was all his idea! He spent years perfecting the recipe but now we're closer than ever! That's why I need you to come back, Wilde. What do ya say?"

Piberius was going to hit Markov again but Nick was faster and grabbed his gun.

"What the-!"

"Is it true?" Nick asked him. He stared straight through his eyes, as if he could see Piberius's soul. "Did you create the drug?"

Piberius's paws were shaking. Nick noticed that his eyes were glistening with tears.

"Is it true?!" Nick repeated angrily. Markov laughed.

"Yes, it is!" the wolverine yelled maniacally.

"You weren't supposed to find out… Not yet", Piberius told.

"How could you keep something like this from me?" Nick shouted. "I even called you my dad!"

"Listen, Nick…"

"IT'S NICHOLAS!"

"Son, I wanted to tell but I was afraid…"

"Afraid of what? That I don't want to meet you if I knew? My friend killed herself because of the drug. She fucking hanged herself!"

Markov's laugh was getting even more disgusting but Nick didn't even hear.

"I can't believe it was you all along who we were chasing!" Nick yelled.

"Son…"

"Don't. Call. Me. YOUR. SON!"

"Listen, I can explain…"

"How could you possibly explain this?!"

"I needed money…"

"For what? Huh? Alcohol? Money so that you won't ever again have to meet me? Is that why you did it?!"

"No, I…"

Markov was now laughing hysterically and he almost choked on his own blood. He turned around and put his hand inside his coat while he laughed and laughed. The foxes were too busy having a civilized conversation that they didn't even notice.

"Did you know that I'm one of the cops inspecting the case? What do you think would happen if they found out… If they found out my father is the creator?"

"But you got fired", Piberius said suddenly and it became very quiet. Nick, who had grabbed his father's shirt suddenly released it and just stared at him.

"H-How did you know?" he asked quietly.

"I know everything", Piberius said and only then realized what it sounded like. His voice became warmer and gentler as he continued: "You're my son, Nick. Of course I knew."

"Ah, how sweet, blah blah blah", Markov said and turned on his back. "Enough talking, 'kay?"

In a split-second Piberius quickly yanked the gun back from Nick and pointed it at Markov who had taken his gun. Piberius was faster, but Markov released the trigger just as the bullet hit him in his face, spraying blood everywhere. Markov went limp and the rifle slipped from him fingers to the bloody floor. The bullet from Markov's gun barely missed Nick's head and found its way to the concrete wall behind them.

Piberius looked at Markov and then spat on him.

" _Proschai, zalupa*_ , isn't that what you say in Fursia?" Piberius mocked.

He looked as the blood left Markov's body slowly, pooling around them.

"Well, at least we got rid of him", Piberius said and turned back to Nick who looked sick as he was staring at the corpse in front of him with his mouth agape.

"Never seen a dead man before?" Piberius asked.

"Not one that was shot by father", Nick spat out.

"Don't worry. It was in self-defense", Piberius reassured him. Suddenly they heard sirens wailing in distance.

"Judy must've…" Nick muttered, not bothering to finish his sentence. "Where the hell is she anyway? Is she okay?"

"I'm sure she is", Piberius said as he bent down next to Markov to search his pockets. "Bunnies are surprisingly tough."

And the old fox was also right. Judy was on the roof with the three animals playing the most intense game of Uno unaware of the incidents happening inside. She was feeling quite confident, too. She only had one card in her paw and it was a blue draw two-card. Krupin had two cards, Dragomirov 5 and the poor Avdeyev must have had at least 15. He may carry the game everywhere with him but he surely wasn't that great of a player, Judy thought. It was Dragomirov's turn and he slammed his card on the growing pile. It was draw four.

Avdeyev muttered something under his breath as he picked four cards from the deck.

"So what color?" Krupin asked.

"Uh… Blue", Dragomirov replied. Judy had to stop herself from grinning. She was sure she'd win.

Krupin also grinned and put a card on the pile.

It was a blue pick two.

"Uno", he muttered but his heart just wasn't in it.

Judy stared at the card with wide eyes.

"Pick two, bunny", Krupin said and smiled devilishly, and Judy had to obey. She took two cards from the deck, one red five and one yellow eight.

Dragomirov used a blue skip card.

"How come you have all the best cards?!" Avdeyev yelled annoyed. Judy swallowed fearfully as the wolf had only one card. She hoped that he couldn't use it.

It seems he could. Krupin put down a draw four card and got up.

"And ding ding ding, we have a winner!" he exclaimed. "Krupin's team! Yeah!"

"Well. It was funny as long as it lasted", Avdeyed said grimly and got up. "Bunny. It was a pleasure to play with you."

Judy was feeling numb. She was so sure about their win and now her whole world came crashing down.

She didn't want to die. There were so many things she had to do.

When was the last time she had called her parents? Her sisters? Brothers? When was the last time she hung out with Ellie from the convenience store in Burrow? She didn't want to go this way.

She heard a gun cock and closed her eyes.

 ***means 'goodbye, dickhead'**


	16. Chapter 16

**UPDATE 24.8.2016: I am still alive! (yay) It's just that school has started and I've been so busy with all the exams, mathematics, driver's ed and matriculation examination not to mention all the chores and other mundane things. So yes, I am so very busy but I will still finish this. The next chapter is almost done and needs just some refining. Thanks for your patience!**

 **I'm back! Honestly, I would have updated sooner but this time I have good excuses.**

 **1\. I'm a major procrastinator**

 **2\. I was in Estonia and didn't take my laptop with me**

 **3\. Pokemon Go**

 **4\. Haymaking. I'm not supposed to say this but I really hate haymaking. There are so many darn mosquitoes and black flies and shit like that. It would be 100% more bearable if there were no insects or anything, honestly. Last year I got bitten so many times it looked as if I had the chicken pox.**

 **If you want (and can) I suggest you go to this site named T** **abletop Audio and play the Noir Procedural ambience** _ **and**_ **the Dark City ambience which were of great help when I was writing this.**

 **Also I have written Fangmeyer as Fangmire because I thought that's how you write it, but yesterday I watched the movie with subtitles for the first time and found out it's actually the former, so from this point onwards I'll write Fangmeyer.**

 **Ugh, honestly, it's like this fic is 80% author's notes, 10% actual story and 10% weird typos.**

 **Oh, almost forgot! To the guest who asked about MDC: It's acronym of Mouse Detective Comics**

 **Disclaimer: I think I've already made it quite clear that I do not own Zootopia or the characters.**

 **-Chapter 16-**

It had been 24:45 when Officer Clawhauser had received Judy's call. At 1:03 three squad cars disturbed the darkness of the night with their flashing lights as they arrived to the bloody scene at the warehouse.

"What the hell happened here?" Officer Delgato asked as he rose from his car and looked at the view. There was a huge hole on the wall and they saw bodies lying across the house. Some had tried to crawl away but had met their demise before getting far.

And the strong, metallic smell of blood was almost unbearable. Being mammals, they all had a very strong sense of smell and it did not really help at all.

"Scanned the area. Nothing outside", someone spoke to the radio.

"Roger that", he answered. "Doesn't look like there's movement inside but I'm not sure. Proceed in caution.

Officer Fangmeyer turned to look at the lion.

"Shall we go in?"

Delgato had drawn his gun and loaded it.

"Yes", he replied and Fangmeyer nodded.

Officers Delgato, Fangmeyer and Grizzoli walked in using the hole blown in the wall by Markov while the other three used the front and back doors.

"Clear!" Delgato declared as he stepped in and checked his side for any animals.

"Clear", Fangmeyer said also. Grizzoli's back was facing to them and he looked outside.

"Seems like they have all fled", Grizzoli said after a while.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Fangmeyer as he saw someone lying on his own blood alone while the others were close to each other. "I'm going to see."

"Roger."

Fangmeyer walked carefully to the corpse and saw that it was a wolverine's. There was a hole in the middle of his head and as Fangmeyer touched the body, it was already stiff.

"Pretty sure this is Markov", he said to himself. He leaned closer to the radio on his vest when he saw two sets of bloody footprints leading away from the corpse and instead moved closer to inspect them.

"Find anything?" Grizzoli, who had walked behind him, asked startling him.

"Uagh! You gotta learn not to sneak behind people!" Fangmeyer scolded and Grizzoli saw that the wolf had been ready to shoot with his gun.

"Right, sorry. This corpse here…"

"It's Markov, yes."

"I see. So then the suspect is dead."

"Yes. These footprints here. What kind of animal do you think they belong to?"

Grizzoli moved closer and knelt right next to the footprints and studied them closely.

"Definitely smaller than a wolf's but you probably already new that, I'd say even smaller than a dogs. Must be a fox. Uh, Two foxes", he said.

"Officer Wi… I mean Nick?"

"I'd guess."

"Alright then. You continue working from here, I'll see if I can find them. They could be hurt, you know", Fangmeyer said.

"Yeah, sure. Be careful."

"You too."

Fangmeyer started following the pawprints while Grizzoli was left with the body. The polar bear gestured to Delgato to come closer and the lion came practically running.

The prints took the wolf behind a corner where he saw old stairs. The prints were getting more unclear and more unclear as Fangmeyer started walking up the stairs. Soon there was no blood at all. He kept going up anyway as he believed they would have seen Nick if the foxes had come back down.

"There's someone on the roof", the radio roared suddenly. "We're going to inspect."

"Roger that."

Fangmeyer continued walking until he arrived in a small area with doors. With caution he pushed the doors open and saw that he was standing in a hallway now. After making sure his Glock was ready to use he kept on walking forward with his destination being the end of the hallway where there was another set of door, the other being ajar.

* * *

A shot echoed in the night, coming from the roof. After the officers walking up the stairs to inspect heard this, they started running.

Something wet and warm trickled down Judy's face, from her forehead to her small nose and some droplets fell on her shirt. The air was filled with the metallic stench of blood and the bang had been deafening.

Which is why it took her such a long time to finally open her eyes and realize that she wasn't hurting. Well, apart from the pain in her tail and ear.

"I'm not dead", she said accidentally aloud and saw Krupin falling on the roof dead while bleeding heavily. There was a fresh, bleeding gun wound on his upper back and some of the blood had sprayed on Judy's face. The wolf's finger was still on the trigger and it twitched subtly a few times before he fell completely still, releasing his hold of the weapon.

Nobody knew what to do at that moment. Krupin's gun slid down from the roof and fell into the darkness, and Judy stared at the body trying to put two and two together. She carefully looked at the moose who was just as confused and she was, and then at the tiger who too was just staring at the body as if he was waiting for the wolf to get up. Then realization hit him and Judy saw as his expression turned from dumbfounded to furious.

In a split second he had drawn and loaded his gun, and just as he was going to shoot Judy (while yelling something in Fursian but Judy had no idea what it was, and to be honest she didn't even think as her mind was occupied with something else, mainly trying to not to be shot), but before he pulled the trigger a bullet behind him shot through his chest, busted his spine broken and killed him. Before Judy could even flinch, another bulled had entered the tiger and then third one as he finally fell on the roof lifeless, with his eyes still staring.

The poor Avdeyev had no idea what hit him as the fifth gunshot was targeted at him. It went straight through his head and he was dead instantly.

Judy stared at the three animals horrified and scared, but she felt adrenaline flow through her body. She took Dragomirov's gun and tried to blend into the darkness. There was someone on the roof and that someone had just killed the three Markov's soldiers and was probably going to get her too. That was, however, before Judy heard that someone talking.

"Cupcake? Are you here?"

* * *

"I am really sorry about all this. Let's face it, this is not how I intended this day to go", Piberius said to Nick who didn't answer but nodded ever so slightly as they were catching their breaths in a small room.

"And I want to make sure that you know the whole drug thing. I had to cook it or else Markov would've killed me. I mean, I may be old and stupid but I don't want to die. And I don't want you to die, either. I love you."

Nick remained quiet.

"And I promise, once this is over, I'll be the father I should have been ever since the beginning. We will play catch and watch the Pasture of Dreams together and go on fishing trips…"

"I think that's enough", Nick interrupted him. "I'm not 12 anymore. I don't want to play catch with you or anyone else. Also I never liked the Pasture of Dreams. Baseball is not my thing."

"Y-You didn't like the Pas… But… I mean, it's… How?"

They stood there in silence for a minute and then Piberius cleared his throat.

"It's true that we, your mother and I, were young and foolish and ended up making things very difficult for us… But we managed. Because we loved you and I loved her and there's nothing that can change that."

"What you're on about now?" Nick asked spitefully.

"Listen. Sure, you weren't planned but you're just as important… No, you're _importanter_ than anyone else, you know. If only you had seen how your mother's eyes brightened as she held you the first time. It was the best day of our lives."

"Okay, first of all, it's _more_ _important_ and not…"

"Wait, I'm not done yet. I know nothing can ever fix what I did to you and leaving you two was the worst decision of my life, but I was a young idiot then. Now I'm a bit older idiot, but at least I know better. Like I said, we we're young and stupid…"

"Here's a helpful tip. Next time, USE PROTECTION!" Nick yelled.

"Uh… Yes… But hear me out once more. Your mother wouldn't want us to fight. She'd want you to be happy and healthy and this kind of fighting isn't exactly healthy, I'd say… Okay, anyway, you have the every reason to hate me, I won't deny that, but I just want another chance. I think I have deserved it, don't you think so too? We'll get a nice apartment with a penthouse and then… Oh, I know! We could start a company together! How about _Wilde & Son_? Too clichéd? Okay, then how about _Wilde & Old Fool (who's very sorry)_? Like that one better?"

Nick rolled his eyes but couldn't help cracking a smile.

"And then we'll become rich and everyone knows us and on the weekends we can just relax and watch Pasture of Dream together!" the older fox continued.

"I'm more of a violent movies fan myself", Nick told. Then he took a deep breath. "Okay, listen let's face it, this has been a crazy day and I'm worried about Judy and all, but I guess… After this is all over we'll fix things and you get your punishment for this everything and then… And then maybe we can be friends. How about that?"

"Do you… Do you think my punishment wouldn't be as severe if I tell them I had to do it?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"I hope it won't."

"But you need to confess, alright?"

"Anything for you, Nicholas."

"Just call me Nick."

Piberius smiled gently and was just going to say something as they heard a loud clank when the door opened. Nick saw Piberius reaching for his gun but not touching t as he realized that the person who came in was a cop.

"Wilde..!" Fangmeyer yelled and only then noticed the older fox who looked just like Nick. "And..."

"George", Piberius said. "George Wallander."

"My father", Nick said.

"Ah, understood", Fangmeyer said. His eyes quickly scanned through Nick. "You okay?"

"It's a shitty situation, ain't it?" Nick asked. "Yeah, I'm okay. Did you see Judy?"

"No."

"Oh."

"But there was someone on the roof, I heard. It might be her", Fangmeyer told. Piberius got closer to the wolf and then offered him his paw.

"Well. You and my son were colleagues, so I guess it's a pleasure to meet you", he said and they shook hands. Piberius's grip was strong and actually hurt quite a lot, whereas Fangmeyer held the fox's paw a bit too loosely.

Despite being shorter than the wolf, Piberius still tried to pat him on the shoulder as a sign of their new-forged acquaintanceship.

Piberius coughed as he walked back to Nick. At first no one did anything, but then Fangmeyer finally cleared his throat.

"It's so good to see you again, Nick. I mean, it has been only a few days but the station has been very dull after you and Officer Hopps left."

"Well, I guess that's enough for our reunion. Mr. Wolf, I'm sorry for this but..." Piberius suddenly pulled out a pistol from his jacket and Nick and Fangmeyer both froze.

"Shit..." he cursed.

"Be a good doggy and close the door", Piberius said. Langmeyer quickly glanced at Nick who looked just as shocked, or maybe even more shocked, as he did. Fangmire reached for his weapon only to have his fingers grasp at nothing.

"Looking for this?" Piberius asked and took another gun behind his back. It was the Glock Fangmeyer had sheathed as he had entered the room.

"What?"

"I'm a fox, remember? No one's as good as pick-pocketing as we are. Right, Nick?"

The younger fox didn't answer. Fangmeyer gulped and kept staring at the gun. Realizing he really didn't have that many options he complied and closed the door.

"Good, good. Lock it."

"What?"

"Lock it."

Nick looked at his father horrified as the wolf turned the lock on the door and heard it click.

"Dad..." Nick said carefully.

"Mr. Wolf, I know you have heard everything we said, and it was very foolish of you to come in just like that. Try anything funny and I'll kill you. Get it?"

"I-I didn't…"

"Quiet! Do as I say and I will not shoot. Get it? Also, if I even see you glance at that stupid radio, I will not hesitate to pull the trigger."

Fangmeyer nodded as he raised his paws up.

"Good doggy. Now, Nick, let's continue, shall we?"

"The gun, dad. Put the g..."

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm not going to shoot him as long as he behaves", Piberius said and he smiled. There was something very eerie about the smile, it was not scary or horrible or didn't even look like that of a homicidal maniacs, it was more like the smile of a father whose kid had drawn a cute picture and showed it to him. It was a normal smile, very gentle but conflicting.

"You need to stop", Nick warned but the older fox didn't listen.

"Well, it must feel good to be the second cop to find about who makes the drug", Piberius said to Fangmeyer.

"You..?"

"Yep, that's me", Piberius replied. "You see, I promised my son I'd confess so now I did."

"I didn't mean…" Nick started saying but didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Quiet", Piberius hissed menacingly.

"Hey, old man! Tell me about the drug!" Fangmeyer yelled and Piberius pulled the hammer back with a click. Fangmeyer's hair in his neck stood up and the air felt suffocating.

"Sure, why not? Its name is Serenity in English but we haven't been able to quite finish it yet. You see, it gives this amazing feeling of euphoria to anyone using it", Piberius said, still pointing at the wolf. "No word can picture that feeling. It's like… It's so good I know anyone would give up doing it with the one they love just to get a taste of this drug. The problem is, no matter what we did, it always ended up killing the person who swallowed it. We chose over 50 people to try it out, and they're all dead. I know you haven't discovered all of the bodies yet. One of them was actually from the police force so if you are missing a bear, you should probably check the junkyard."

Nick and Fangmeyer both looked shocked.

"Of course, drugs must be a no-no when you're a cop so he probably deserved it, huh? Anyway, we're getting closer to perfecting it. Once all is set, I will rise up and rule the underworld!" Piberius told. "Of course, I cannot do this alone."

He put Fangmeyer's gun on the ground and kicked it to Nick. "Pick it up."

Nick took the gun and studied it. It was loaded.

"Nick... Son."

"Y-yeah?"

"Will you join me? Together we - me and you - will rule an empire! We will be unstoppable!" Piberius yelled.

"Wha..."

"All you need to do is shoot him", Piberius said. Nick understood he was talking about Fangmeyer.

"I'm not shooting anyone!" Nick claimed.

"I think I can persuade you. Nick, I am not your enemy. I'm your father, and I wish all the best to you. However, as long as these people live, you can never have a good life."

"What are you talking about?!"

Piberius laughed.

"Son, we're foxes. We're the scum of society. Haven't we been ridiculed enough?"

"Species does not matter!" Nick yelled.

"Oh, but it does. Think about your life. Why did you need to grow up younger than most children? Because you're a fox. Why was it so hard for you to get a job? Because you're a fox. Why were you fired? A fox. Why do they keep talking about you behind your back? Fox. We're foxes and we cannot change."

"Nick, I promise..." Fangmeyer said but was interrupted by the older fox.

"Shut up!" he turned back to Nick and smiled. "Do you see it, Nick? To them we're just a burden. But if you join me, we'll become something great; something that everyone fear, something that everyone admires. Doesn't it sound great? We'll be together again."

"You're delusional."

"No, son, you're delusional if you think they ever cared about you. Newsflash, they didn't. No one likes foxes."

Nick's jaw was trembling. He knew his father wasn't telling the truth but couldn't help feeling like the old man was right after all.

"But we will show them. We'll show them the rage of the red fox!" Piberius shouted dramatically. "What do ya say, Nick?"

"I'm not joining you."

"Really? Sounds a bit like you're hesitating, though. Imagine, Nick, we can become rich. Richer than anyone. We'll be the first foxes in power!"

"You think?" Nick asked.

"Of course. Now's your chance, Nick. You can become something great."

Nick's paws were shaking.

"Just shoot him. Do it and you'll be free", Piberius told. Nick stood unmoving but then slowly he raised the gun and pointed the dirty barrel at the wolf who clearly couldn't believe what was happening.

"Nick, he's lying!" Fangmeyer yelled horrified.

"Do it, so. Make you daddy proud!" Piberius yelled.

"Nick, we can talk this through..!"

"Remember how many times you have been beaten up by the likes of them! Remember the rage and sadness!"

Nick pulled the hammer back and took a deep breath. He was looking at the ground, shadows concealing his face but Fangmeyer saw a tear fell down on the floor.

"Nick, you're better than this! Please, think rationally."

"Do it."

"Don't do it, Nick!"

"KILL HIM."

"N-Nick, you know I'm going to be a father in few months! M-my wife would be all alone..."

"NICHOLAS, SHOOT THE WOLF."

"Please, Nick, I'm begging!"

"DO IT AND I KNOW YOU ARE MAN ENOUGH TO JOIN ME."

"Please, please, please, Nick, I don't want to die, just please let me go, I beg of you… Please…"

Nick raised his head and stared at Fangmeyer. He had an ugly grimace full of rage but sorrow as well on his face and tears were now falling freely.

"Please, Nick, let's talk about this..." Fangmeyer said and his voice broke at the end. This was not the way he wanted to go.

"Do it, son. I'll always be proud of you."

"Please..." Fangmeyer whispered but the foxes could hear he had lost all hope.

It was quiet for a while. Then Piberius grinned and said with a deep voice:

"Your mama would be so proud."

"I'm sorry", Nick whispered very quietly and let go of the hammer. The gun fired with a deafening bang.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or the characters.**

 **-Chapter 17-**

"Chris!" Judy yelled as she saw the raccoon walking closer to her, holding a gun on his paw. Even in the dark Judy could see he was grinning but he looked absolutely terrible, with his fur dirty and his eyes droopy.

The bunny hopped up and ran to the raccoFon and hugged him without a warning. Despite being bigger, Chris almost fell down but he managed to regain his footing and hugged Judy back.

"Missed me?"

"Where were you?! We th… I-I thought you had died!" Judy yelled crying from joy as she finally released Chris who gritted his teeth as she accidentally hit his side and it was clear that he was hurt from his battle with Markov… How long days ago? Judy couldn't even remember. It was as if she had just heard about Nick's father months ago. But in reality it wasn't even a week.

How was Nick, by the way? She thought. Nah, of course he would be okay. Right..?

"Yeah, it was a close call I guess", Chris said. "Hehe, I too I'm a bit surprised that I am here."

"How did you even know to come here?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I just felt like I should come. Can't really explain it", he told Judy. "Like Allen was calling me. He's here, isn't he? Do you know where he is?"

The question took Judy by surprise and she wasn't sure what to say so she just stood here and kept opening her mouth like a fish gasping for air.

"So you don't?" Chris said nodding and didn't seem to even think of the option that Allen would be dead.

Judy was going to tell him but she decided to wait until the right time. To her it was not yet.

* * *

 _It was almost ironic how that day had been the warmest day in weeks and how the sun had been shining without any clouds obstructing the view. He was in the store buying chocolate and the cashier was that nice antelope who always gave him a small discount because she knew why he entered the store every day. The cashier smiled as him as he paid and exited the store and outside he said hello to the store owner's, a very nice and fat red panda's, daughter Wei who was eating ice cream with her best friend. It was a routine that he went through every day._

 _He had never really liked hospitals even though he knew that they were needed. He didn't necessarily have "bad" memories from hospitals, neither did he have good ones and this one he was familiar with as he had visited it every day for half a year now, after his mother's condition had weakened so much that she simply didn't manage home._

 _He walked in, said hello to the receptionist who recognized him and smiled and waved back._

 _He remembered the way to the room; first you walked through the first hallway to the elevators and used them to get to the third floor where you first turned left and walked until the room 241 appeared._

 _Every day she looked worse yet managed to smile at him._

" _Hey, Nicky", she said and as the young fox climbed on the chair next to her, she weakly ruffled the fur on his head. Her arm was skinny and there were spots where she was missing fur entirely. "How are you?"_

" _I'm good", he replied and took the blueberry chocolate bar and handed it to her. She smiled weakly and took it._

" _Thank you, Nicky."_

 _He watched as she tried to open the wrapper but didn't have enough strength to get it open. She tried for almost a whole minute when Nick took it back and tore it apart._

" _There."_

" _Thank you."_

 _She took a small bite of the chocolate and offered some for Nick who was more than glad to taste it._

" _How are you doing at school?" his mother asked and his eyes widened a bit. He had no idea what to tell her when he hadn't actually been to school for almost a whole week. It wasn't necessarily intentional, but he had no much money and since his mother was in hospital and his father god knows where, he needed to get money somehow. But he could never tell her, especially since his means were more or less illegal. She would not approve of that, she would maybe get mad, or worse, she would have that disappointed look on her face for as long as the two lived._

" _I'm… Uh, doing good", he lied._

 _She coughed and then turned to look at the picture on the nightstand. It was a photograph of her and Piberius, with little Nick being held by his strong arms, and they were smiling._

" _I really miss your f-father", she said. "You're getting so tall. Just a few more years and you'll look exactly like him."_

" _You think so?" Nick asked._

" _Yes. You're just as handsome as he was", she told. Nick nodded and she chuckled a little, only to be interrupted by a painful coughing fit. Nick looked sadly as he watched his mother retch and gag._

" _I'm sorry, I'm okay", she said quietly as she finally got to breathe. She leaned back on her pillow and put her paw on Nick's head._

 _Neither of them moved for a while and Nick was getting uncomfortable sitting on the hard chair, but he would have sat on that chair for the rest of his live if it meant his mother was feeling comfortable and happy._

" _Nicky dearie…" she said and stroked his cheek with her slender fingers. "I feel like I don't have much time. Even raising my paws takes so much energy. Breathing hurts so much."_

 _Nick hadn't actually noticed it before but every time her chest rose, she made a raspy sound._

" _You don't…", he said as he already felt what she was telling him._

" _Listen", she said gently. "You remember the yellow address book with flowers? The old one?"_

 _He nodded._

" _There are all of my contacts. You need to call… Call…" she was interrupted by another coughing with, much less violent than the earlier one. "-call my sister. Your Aunt Betty. Tell her about the situation. Tell her that I'm sorry- That I'm sorry but that she was wrong. Piberius was perfect for me. They all were wrong. Ask her… Ask her to take care of you. I don't want you to be put into some crappy foster care. I'm sure she will be more than happy to help… A-And she will also help you arrange my… My…"_

 _She couldn't say it and instead she started crying. After seeing his mother break down, tears started flowing freely on his cheeks as well._

" _I know."_

" _Good. You're such a strong boy… Let me tell you. Those damn boy scouts could have gotten such a good member. Brave and courageous. Well, their loss."_

 _She took his paw._

" _Nick…"_

" _Yes?"_

" _I have a feeling that one day you will do great things", she said._

 _I don't think so, he thought but smiled at his mother anyway. "Thanks."_

" _But don't go to war like your father did", she said. "It destroys people. I don't want you to get hurt. Is that clear?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Nicky, you have no school tomorrow. Would you… Would you stay here with me? Until the next morning? I'm afraid to go to sleep alone."_

" _Su-sure, of course."_

" _You're such a good boy… I love you, Nick."_

" _Love you too", the young fox replied shyly._

 _As the nurse came to check on her, she noticed that the fox kid had fallen asleep on her arms. Not daring to disturb them, she instead tossed a blanket over them and couldn't help but smile as corners of the fox kid's mouth turned upwards._

 _The next morning as he woke up, his mother's body was cold and stiff. He never called his aunt, he wasn't even sure if she would have picked up. A bit before the funeral organized by the state he contacted Finnick and asked him to go to the address he had received on the note from his father, only to find out he had not lived there in years._

As he watched the body drop on the ground, it was the only thing he could think of. In his mind he saw himself as a kid, waking up over and over again to his mother's dead body. It was a cancer located in her lungs and the whole apartment was inspected soon after the death. He didn't even remember if they found anything that had made her ill, the only thing that mattered to him was that he was all alone.

She was dead.

He was alone.

His father had left them.

But he had a good reason.

No, he didn't.

He didn't come to the funeral.

He still missed her.

It was a lie.

No it wasn't.

Nick's back burned just like it had burned that day.

He almost felt the damn iron pressing against his back.

The body first had fallen on his knees and it was as if he was still trying to talk, only to cough up a lot of blood and fall back on his back.

It was quiet, very quiet. Both of them were holding their breaths, looking at the body lying on the floor and the growing pool of blood, his blood.

 _alone alone alone alone alone alone_ he kept repeating in his head, his mind was being plagued by his thoughts.

His eyes moved to the gun he was still holding in his paws and suddenly he felt like it was diseased and rotten. He threw it to the ground and collapsed on his knees.

"I'm sorry", he said to the corpse. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry."

Piberius's eyes were open, staring at the roof over him. There was a hole in the middle of his chest and blood was pouring out of it like wine from a bottle. Nick wasn't even crying anymore, he was just staring without any emotion on his face.

Fangmeyer stared at the sight almost mesmerized. He had opened his eyes after he had heard the shot only to realize it hadn't hit. Or more like it had hit, but the wolf hadn't been the target.

It took him a second to realize that Nick picked up the gun again, loaded it and put it against his jaw, pointing at his head. He said something inaudibly and put his finger on the trigger.

Just as he pulled it, Fangmeyer grabbed the gun and threw it away, causing it to shoot a hole on the wall.

"Dude, what are you doing?" the wolf demanded to know but got no answer, instead Nick proceeded to vomit on the floor.

After he was done retching, Fangmeyer helped him up and hauled his arm around Fangmeyer's neck. "C'mon, buddy, let's get you out of here", he said. Nick didn't answer and as they exited the room, Fangmeyer gave one last glance at the body of the fox.

 _Me doing great things? I just killed my father. I don't think so, mom._

* * *

Nick was now walking behind Fangmeyer without talking or making any kind of noise. He was so quiet Fangmeyer had to every now and then turn back and see if he was still coming. He was.

"It's all going to be alright", Fangmeyer promised him but the fox didn't react at all. The wolf had taken his gun back and it was holstered on his belt.

They arrived downstairs and had to walk next to the bloody heap of bodies.

"This is a mess", Fangmeyer said trying to ignite conversation. Honestly, he wasn't even thinking Nick would answer him so he was rather surprised when the fox did.

"Yeah."

 _Did you help shoot these people_ ; Fangmeyer wondered but then shook his head trying to get rid of the thought. _Even if you did, it was self-defense. Everything is okay. The judge will understand, right..? I know chief does…_

Grizzoli and Delgato were still there, talking to a younger officer who was a porcupine. Fangmeyer opened his muzzle to shout at them, maybe he was going to inform that Piberius Wilde was dead, when he was interrupted by a hoarse shout.

"Wallander!"

The voice came from behind, and they turned to look at the Siberian husky behind them who was lying on the heap of bodies looking like a body himself too, pointing a gun at Nick. "You will pay..!"

The first bullet went straight through the fox's hip bone, shattering it in hundreds of pieces and causing him to fall on the hard floor.

Before they could react, a second and a third bullet entered his body without exiting, lodged in his lower abdomen.

"Fuck!" Fangmeyer yelled as he realized that they had been shot at. In a split second he had drawn his gun and cursed at himself for not having it drawn when he could have needed it, but the husky managed to fire three times, two of the bullets hit Nick in the arm and the chest and the third one hit Fangmeyer's leg. The pain was the worst thing he could imagine, it burned and it hurt and he just wanted to scream.

The husky was killed by Delgato who came running with Grizzoli and the younger officer.

"Damn, he must've still been alive…" Grizzoli said gritting his teeth. "We should have been more careful." The husky had yelled Wallander before shooting Nick meaning that he was also probably dying and got the foxes mixed up.

Fangmeyer knelt next to Nick despite the pain on his leg. Nick stared wide-eyed with blood falling from the wounds on his body, his nose and his mouth staining his fur red. He was breathing fast – way too fast – and it seemed like he hadn't really realized what had happened. He was shaking and clearly distressed.

"Armor-piercing rounds", Delgato knew as he saw that the bullets had gone through Nick's vest.

"Shit, this looks bad", Fangmeyer said aloud, not to Nick but to the others. "Quick, find something to stop the bleeding!"

"What?" the porcupine asked.

"I- I don't know, p-paper or bandages or even a cloth!"

"I-I think there are some in the cars!"

"How long until an ambulance gets here?" Fangmeyer asked Grizzoli.

"May be over ten minutes. I can drive him", the polar bear said.

"No, you should stay here. I'll take him, you're a better cop than me anyway."

"What are you talking about? You're hurt too..!"

He was interrupted by a weird voice similar to coughing coming from Nick. His body was convulsing and shaking violently, with more and more blood coming from his open wounds. He was choking on his blood and Fangmeyer gently helped him on his side when the blood managed to get away from his throat.

"Where the fuck are the bandages?" Fangmeyer yelled sounding furious but there was a hint of panic and fear in his voice. He didn't even register as Delgato took off the shirt of his uniform and handed it to the wolf who wasn't sure whether or not he should have taken Nick's shirt off but to be honest he was not ready to see the bloody mess underneath the canvas, so he just helped Nick out of the vest first and then wrapped Delgato's shirt around Nick's bleeding chest.

"It's not good enough. At this rate he'll die in minutes", Delgato said.

"I know. We need the bandages. You two go. Bell, you will try to slow down the bleeding and Grizzoli will drive. I… I'll stay here in case something happens", Fangmeyer said.

As Grizzoli bent down to pick up Nick, the fox looked him in the eye and opened his mouth. He was trying to say something but couldn't make the words come out of his mouth and instead blood swept down on his jaw. Grizzoli noticed tears in Nick's eyes and couldn't stare the fox in the eyes or else he would have broken down himself. It was stupid really, he was a police and he should be prepared for this kind of situations.

Nick kept opening and closing his mouth and was finally able to ay one simple word:

"Ju…dy…"

His arms went limp and Grizzoli could see that his end was getting closer.

"We need to hurry! Come on!" Grizzoli said and picked up the much smaller animal.

"I'll call them! To let them know to be ready!" Fangmeyer yelled after them and picked up his phone. His leg hurt too but he didn't have time to think about it. He could manage longer than Nick anyway.

* * *

"It's truly a mess", said a rhinoceros as he was walking up to the roof with a wolf. They both were wearing ZPD uniforms and their guns were drawn. They had just found a body of a raccoon and a lot more people who seemed to have been working for Markov, but so far they hadn't found anyone alive.

From the skylight they could see Judy and someone other, but what had gotten their attention was the bloody glass. It seemed someone was killed on the roof.

Judy hadn't noticed the officers coming but Chris had seen them afar, so when they got up on the roof and told him to freeze, he had already raised his paws up.

"McHorn! Wolford!" Judy yelled happily. "Boy, am I happy to see you two!"

"Officer Hopps is here and walking on her two legs. Can't say much more of her condition though… Three dead bodies", the rhino was reporting on the radio when Wolford walked to Judy.

"Rough day, huh?" he asked playfully but clearly concerned. Even though he was talking to Judy, he wasn't taking his gun away from the raccoon who didn't seem to mind.

"You have no idea", Judy said. Suddenly she was feeling very exhausted.

"Uhm, Judy. Could you…" Chris said without ending the sentence, instead he just gestured hi shead towards Wolford.

"Oh right. Wolford, he's a good guy. Don't worry. Saved me just now."

"Oh. Okay then", Wolford said and sheathed his gun. Then he put his paws on his waist and looked around. "This is the biggest bloodbath I have ever seen, I must admit."

"Yeah", Judy said. She was sure she was never going to recover from this.

"Well, luckily it's pretty clear that these people were working for Markov. That should save us from court but it sure as hell won't save us from paperwork."

"You bet."

"So I'm assuming that the raccoon we found was on our side?" Wolford asked eyeing Chris whose eyes widened.

"What?"

"The raccoon…"

"No!" Judy yelled and they turned to look at her. "I mean… You, uh, need to… You know."

Wolford only then realized what had happened.

"Oh…"

"Yep."

Judy looked at Chris who had clearly understood and he was clenching his fists.

"There was a dead raccoon?"

"I'm sorry but that seems to be the case", Wolford said, bowing his head.

"My brother's dead?" Rocky asked and Judy heard how his voice was shaking with rage and grief and she started crying. "Why didn't you tell me, Judy?"

"I was going to", she said. "I really was. I just couldn't. I'm sorry. He sacrificed himself so that I could live. Allen was a hero."

"So you killed him?"

Judy was not prepared for such a question and as she thought about it, it made her feel even worse.

"I'm sorry", she bawled. "I did not want this to happen!"

"But you did! What was so damn important that you had to get my brother, Allen who never hurt anyone, involved? Huh?"

"I.. I don't know… I'm sorry."

"You… You..!" Chris yelled and took an angry step towards Judy when two guns suddenly pointed at him. Both Wolford and McHorn watched him sternly and he hadn't even himself realized he had been reaching for his breast pocket.

"Get away!" McHorn commanded and Chris moved his leg back and let his arms drop. Judy let out the breath he had been holding after his outburst.

"Alright, alright. No need to point that thing at me!" he yelled furiously. Judy was truly afraid of this version of Chris. Of course she understood his rage but she still wanted to be friends. Of course she knew that could never happen.

"Chris, I am honestly so sorry. If I could undo this day… No, this whole week, I would", Judy said.

"I know", Chris spat. "Never meeting your puny ass would have been _so much_ better for everyone."

Judy didn't know how to respond to it, mostly because she knew it was true. It was her who had wanted to find Nick's father, it was her who went and talked to the raccoons and it was her who in the end had gotten a lot of animals, innocent or not, killed. And she still didn't know how Nick was doing.

"I understand you can't forgive me, but…" Judy was saying but was interrupted by Chris.

"I want to see him", he said. "Now. Where is he?"

"Are you sure?" Judy asked.

"Yes, I am sure!" Chris snapped. "Where is he, god dammit?!"

"…follow me", Judy then said after thinking for a few seconds. It was the least she could do, even though she didn't want to see Allen's body herself.

The officers also followed them, just in case as they entered the room where Allen's body lied in the middle with his leg still stuck in the bear trap.

"Allen…" he said very quietly as he walked to him. "What did they do to you?"

It hurt Judy to hear the pain in his voice, it hurt almost more than the actual death. Only almost.

"I can't believe this", Chris said as he knelt next to his brother. Judy stopped herself from seeing his head and he just stared at Allen's cold unmoving body.

Chris was stroking Allen's cheek when he suddenly talked.

"You said he died a hero right? Saved you, isn't that right?"

"Yes, he was very brave."

"I see", Chris said and planted a kiss on Allen's forehead before he got up. "I'm ready to go."

"Alright."

Judy was the first to exit the room, with McHorn following, then Wolford and Chris was the last one. Right under the door he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Judy asked as she heard it. They turned to Chris who was smiling sadly.

"Hehe, nothing, I just… Um… You know, Judy. Despite everything meeting you was kinda cool", he said. His tone had suddenly drastically changed.

"Uhm… Thank you. And I definitely loved meeting you two", she replied.

"That's cool. Er, so I just wanted to say… Um, I'm sorry", he said.

"But you have nothing to.." Judy started saying as Chris suddenly closed the door, leaving the three cops out as he locked himself in, "Wha… Chris?"

"Maybe we see in another life, Cupcake!" Chris yelled behind the door. "But for now you'll need to wait. I'll be there when you come."

"What are you… Chris!" Judy kept knocking on the door frantically. "Chris, open it!"

There was silence, and then there was a gunshot.

Allen McCoon had died, and so had his brother. Later they would find him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the head, lying next to his twin brother.

Judy's world fell apart four times that day. First was when she saw Allen dying, poor innocent Allen who shouldn't even have been there. The second time was when she heard Chris killing himself, knowing she would maybe have stopped him. But the third one was the worst one, it was hearing that Nick, his colleague, his partner and his best friend had been shot.

When she first heard she news, she felt scared and numb and hadn't even registered what Fangmeyer had said after that – _is that Nick's blood on him, that much?_ \- and they all got in one car even though it was more or less legal and Fangmeyer had been shot as well but not once did he even complain. He filled them and they all were shocked after hearing that Nick had shot his own father and Judy kept thinking _why why why did I have to be so nosy?_

She had felt many emotions that day. So many. Happiness, anger, joy, grief. But it seemed she'd be stuck with grief for some time.

As they entered the hospital, there was a doctor waiting for Fangmeyer and despite him wanting to meet Nick he was taken away to get his leg checked, and the others walked to Grizzoli and the younger officer who truly looked horrible. To be honest, they all did.

Judy was the first one to speak.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

Grizzoli took a deep breath and rubbed his tired eyes.

"We don't know", he replied sighing.

"He's in surgery", the young officer told. If Judy remembered correctly, his name was Salomon Bell. It was his second week at work, so it was no surprise how shaken he looked. "Apparently the bullet grazed his aorta."

Judy gulped and looked at the hallway, maybe hoping to see a doctor bringing good news.

"We didn't… Catch everything they told us, but apparently… Uh, apparently the bullet also messed up his spine", the porcupine continued explaining. He was holding a coffee cup on his hands but they were shaking so much, the coffee pretty much spilled everywhere. Everyone gasped after hearing what he told them, save for Grizzoli who already knew this. "So it's highly likely that if he survives, he will not walk anymore."

He was going to explain more when the hospital's door where suddenly pulled open with a force, and as they turned to look they saw the chief walking in with a somewhat grim look on his face.

"Well, they said that the surgery will last a while. I'll go home and change", Grizzoli said sighing and looked at his bloody uniform. "G'night, chief", he said as he passed the buffalo.

The Chief didn't answer, just simply nodded and walked to the group. Judy didn't even hear what the others spoke, all she did was think about Nick. It was because of her he was in that room being operated. What if he couldn't walk? Who'd take care of him then? He lived alone and since Judy was a policewoman, she had a very busy schedule. Could Finnick help him? No, that made no sense. The fennec must be a busy mammal himself, too. But Nick was a strong fox. Of course he'd manage with a wheelchair on his own, right? Right?

She hadn't even realized Chief Bogo had said her name before he repeated it.

"Huh?" she asked.

"May we speak in private?"

Judy noticed that her legs were trembling a little, but she nodded and they walked away from the group. Bogo knelt down so that he could see Judy's eyed better, and he looked straight at them which made her feel awkward and she stared at the tiles on the floor.

"I actually have been thinking about this for a few days", he said. "I- I must admit that I was too harsh on Wilde that one day when I fired him."

Judy now turned her eyes at the buffalo.

"I mean, it's not the first time an officer has been drunk on job, but I was under a lot of stress and the drug case kept me awake at night, so I snapped. I should have… We, fixed my mistake but I guess I just didn't want to face him."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was going to give Wilde his job back", the chief explained.

"You were?"

"Yes. I was going to- I was supposed to contact him today. You know, after the sun was up. I had no idea what was happening… If I had known, I would never have fired him. He also found the main suspect on the drug case, didn't he?"

"His father", Judy said quietly. "Nick had to shoot his father. Fangmeyer told us."

Bogo sighed.

"Look, I'm telling this to you because you two were close. If he- If he survives, he will get his job back. Even if he couldn't, uh, work anymore because of the circumstances-"

 _Like the fact he will never walk again,_ he thought but refrained from saying it aloud.

"-he will be promoted. I thought I'd let you know."

Judy nodded.

"I understand, chief."

"Of course you do."

It was 6 in the morning and Judy was waiting near the surgery room with the officers. The porcupine had gone home to sleep, guess this was just too much for him. Judy understood, of course.

Grizzoli had come back wearing civilian clothes and it was clear he had also showered. Wonder how long he had to scrub away all the blood?

Fangmeyer was alright, although he had been given a four week sick leave. He sat next to Judy with his leg in a brace and he was nodding of, having been awake the whole night.

Judy was nervously staring at the clock. What kind of surgery lasts so damn long? She couldn't take the silence and the sterile smell of the hospital or the ugly mint green walls made her feel ill.

Chief Bogo had had to go back to work but he promised to return of they heard something new.

It was 5:15 when Judy drank her fifth cup of coffee. She wondered whether or not Finnick had heard already. Probably hadn't though. Who would have told him?

It was 5:26 when Judy realized she should probably call her parents. She had seen the news report on the TV; everyone already knew that an officer and three civilians had gotten hurt. No, the officers. Nick had gotten his job back-

It was 5:33 when Judy was feeling so sick she had to go outside to walk a little.

It was 5:35 when her parents called. She told them quickly what had happened and hung up.

It was 5:42 when she took another cup of coffee. She was feeling so restless she needed to be doing something.

It was 5:52 when the door of the operating room opened.

It was 5:52 when they were told that Nick Wilde, 33, had died on the operating table due to the immense damage on his chest.

It was 5:52 when Judy's world fell apart for the fourth time.

 **-THE END-**

* * *

 **Wow, that's about it then. I don't really have much to say. Thank everyone for following, favoriting and reviewing and thanks to those too who read this even if they didn't follow, favorite or review!**

 **Uh. So some things. At first I was going to make Chris attack Judy but it really didn't feel right so he just killed himself instead of being shot by cops. I'm sorry about all of the OCs. plz don't kil meh**

 **So anyway, epilogue is coming up soon. I hope you enjoyed this fic, I know I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Oh, also… At first I wasn't sure whether to kill Nick or not, so I decided (remember when I talked about that hockey game) that if we win, he gets to live and if we lose, he dies. So do not blame me, blame the Czech.**

 **But honestly, thank you all so so so much! Seriously. Even though my writing occasionally sucked and even though my author notes were so long and meaningless. Thanks!**


	18. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or the characters.**

 **-Epilogue-**

"Hey buddy. It's been a while, huh?

Let's face it, I wasn't actually going to visit but she kind of persuaded me. I mean, I think this is honestly kind of pointless but here we are.

Hm, let's see. Things have quite changed since you left. Um, remember Stephanie? The vixen? Yeah, her club has a new owner. Why do I know this? I heard rumors. I have no reason to go there to see it myself, okay? Apparently the owner is a rat, can you believe? I imagine him surrounded by girls and then they accidentally squash him because he's tiny.

Not that being tiny is bad, of course, cough.

Um. So Matthew was actually kind of distressed when he heard about you. Can you imagine, he has that fucking framed picture of you on the shelf and he fills in the mug next to it every day.

Uh… Jose told me a horse joke one day. The same you always told him. I guess if you're not there to mock him, who is? I can tell he misses you, even though he said he isn't really bothered. You don't have to be Reindeerstein to notice it.

So there's a new crime lord in town. Funny, huh? It's like Zootopia never rests. Luckily I cannot be bothered anymore, now that I officially live in Fursia. The business is blooming, actually. Feels weird having a real job, to be honest. I can see why you liked being a cop. Let's face it though, crime wasn't fun anymore after you stopped being my partner.

I saw that bunny one day. I heard she's still working at ZPD. Hey, do you think I would look good in a uniform? Asking just because Ekaterina is crazy about them. She also likes suits, though. Bought me this fancy one I'm wearing. Anyway, I saw Hopps and we actually talked. She asked how I was doing and I told her I came back to open three new ice cream shops. She seems to be doing fine but boy, you should've seen her at the funeral. I almost seemed like you two had been married. Now, now, Nick, how could you leave such a fine bunny behind? Did you even do anything together?

Hm, anything else..? Oh, yeah. I totally forgot. I think flowers are stupid so I bought you this beer. It's kind of a shame we cannot really drink together but this is as close as it gets.

I guess I should go now, Ekaterina's probably already waiting. Happy birthday, Nick. Life is boring without you. Oh, and tell Travis and Sally I said hi."

The fennec got up on his legs and gave a last glance to the gravestone until heading away from the cemetery, leaving the opened beer can on the ground.


End file.
